5. CONCEPTS DESCRIBING SOCIAL WORKERS’ WELL-BEING
6.2 CLIENT-WORKER INTERACTION IN SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANISATIONS
takes place in face-to-face contact between employees and service users. Of course, some things are handled through writing or by phone, and the administrative procedure might take more time than face-to-face contacts, but the most intensive part of the helping process takes place in face-to-face situations. Usually, the first meeting takes place in the social service office, where the employee meets the client in person. Due to the fact that the nature of social services is to deal with very personal matters and individual tragedies, these meetings are different than other office visits, such as to the employment office or passport office. Clients tell in detail about their personal situation, which often includes biographical information.
Very often the clients‟ stories include some tragedy; otherwise, it would not be necessary to visit the service. Harm, illnesses and tragic fates are the themes clients drag around and bring
45 along to their appointments. But the employees also may have their own worries and tragedies. Therefore, the helping process does not take place in a sterile public service procedure, but between two individuals with their own biographical background and personal specifics. Even though social service localities are typical public offices, the event happening in the office is often much more than a neutral talk about problems and solutions.
These characteristics of social service work make the quality of the helping relationship one of the most important determinants of client and case outcome. Because of the nature of social service work, developing and maintaining a good client-worker relationship is a great challenge for both. A good client-worker relationship is basically characterized by mutual respect, acceptance, trust, warmth liking, understanding and collaboration (de Boer & Coady 2007, Ribner & Knei-Paz 2002). These characteristics apply to clients as well as to professionals. In a study on relationship competences, Drake (1994) identified some main characteristics which are needed to build a stable relationship. Professionals and clients agree on the importance of a good client-worker relationship for a successful helping process. They also agree on some key competences for both sides, such as respect, effective communication, participation in the process and the avoidance of prejudgment. The clients mentioned particularly the professionals‟ ability to listen, to show empathy, and to spend time with them while assessing and solving his problems (Ribner & Knei Paz 2002). Despite the great extent of agreement on the content of a good client-worker relationship, there are many serious obstacles in creating and maintaining the relationship.
For a better understanding of the process, it is necessary to look more closely at the actors.
On the one side, social service employees are professionals who are educated in helping people in need and have knowledge about legal frameworks and supporting capabilities. This professional skills depend on the educational institution attended, further training and professional experience (Schrapper 1999). Further, all professionals have their own personalities with different backgrounds and biographies. These range from self experienced harm in childhood to an overly protected childhood, and professionals are not free of unresolved problematic social experiences which can be triggered in contact with clients.
Another important aspect is the professionals‟ social class which might differ from the client‟s, leading to different attitudes. On the other side, clients are service users who may be seeking help or may just want to get away from the service institution as soon as possible.
Some of them have just minor sorrows and just need counselling to move forward, and others
46 appear in the office with a story full of harm and tragedy. Burdened by pathologic psychic structures, caught in their own biographic experiences and using mainly dysfunctional coping strategies, clients found it impossible to develop compliance and find solutions for their problems (Agass 2002, Trevithick 2003). Moreover, clients often behave in unfriendly, hostile or even aggressive ways. Nevertheless, an effective helping process relies on a workable relationship between employee and client, which can be quite a great challenge for both sides.
Figure 3: Client-worker interface model
The relationship between service employee and service user can be seen as the interface in the helping process, which has significant impact on several factors: client compliance, the outcomes, the well-being of employees and clients, and the reputation of the service
47 institution. In any helping process a relationship develops between the participating sides, positive or negative. Depending on the quality of the relationship, it is experienced as supporting or burdening. The process of building a relationship is to some aspect unconscious, and the actors are often unaware of the factors which influence it. Consequently, the emotions experienced in the relationship may have negative effects on individual well-being as well as on the client-worker relationship. Therefore, the social worker needs to be able to influence and steer the relationship. This clearly shows the importance of the client-worker relationship for a successful helping process and also for the well-being of employees and the clients. Further, it contributes to the understanding of the processes leading to social workers‟ distresses as well to their occupational well-being. This knowledge is used in chapter 7 to define the concept of social workers‟ occupational well-being.