January 2005

Occupational Social Welfare

Social Workers in the World of Work

Paul Kurzman, PhD, ACSW, Chair, Work, Employment and Rehabilitation Specialization, Hunter College School of Social Work and Sheila Akabas, PhD, Director, Center for Social Policy and Practice in the Workplace, Columbia University School of Social Work

Work, or its absence, is inevitably a central issue in the lives of the clients we serve in all settings. From the meaningful play of childhood, to the dreams of persons with serious mental health conditions, to the reminiscences of residents of a home for the aged, work and employment issues assume a prominent role in people’s lives. When we meet a stranger, therefore, it is no accident that, after an exchange of names, the first question we are likely to ask is, “And tell me, what do you do?” with the rest of the question understood to be “for a living”. If we continue, our next query may be “and so where do you work?” It is in the spirit of the centrality of work, workers and work organizations, in the American experience, and in our clients’ lives that this special issue of Currents is

Helping Clients from Welfare to Work
With rare exception, adults today are expected to be a member of a working family. Since passage of landmark legislation in 1996, when the public assistance safety net, in place since 1935, was removed, the need for jobs for virtually all adults has become a front-burner issue for our profession. Regardless of our ideological position on the issue, helping clients move from welfare to work, however difficult and even disagreeable this at times may be, has evolved as an important new role for professional social workers. Taking the lead in this endeavor are our colleagues who practice as occupational social workers. They focus on the significance of work in people’s lives, the role of work organizations (employers and trade unions) in the larger society, and the pivotal function of workers in our nation.Work organizations, known colloquially as labor and management, play a central function and have an impact on the daily life of virtually every individual and family. Coverage by health insurance, as a result of employment, achieving a work/family balance, demonstrating cultural competence to promote a level playing field at the workplace, and numerous other promises in America center on sound policy and practice in the world of work.

An Eye on the Work Community’s Needs
Occupational social work is a specialized field of social work practice which addresses the human and social needs of the work community–employer, trade union, job seeker and employee. Professional practitioners serve those preparing to enter or re-enter the world of work, as well as workforce participants (as union members or as employees), and the legitimate social welfare needs of labor and industrial organizations.
These social workers, as you will see in this special issue, are committed to a focus on the unemployed, underemployed and never-employed, as well as clients intergenerationally stuck in marginal employment or on public assistance. Transitions from welfare to work, work re-entry for clients with disabilities, and the opening of work options for classes of disenfranchised people are as central a focus of “the work” of the occupational social worker as are the ongoing needs of long-term workforce participants. Moreover, advocacy in the world of work, no less than in more traditional settings, is essential to sound practice, given our profession’s historic commitment to being providers of social services, and being agents of social change.

A Variety of Service Models
The articles in this issue highlight these themes. Andrea Vaghy, Kevin Costin and Ralph Garcia show the difference that professional social workers make in workforce development programs. The combined practice skills of casework, groupwork and community organizations all are in play in their work settings. And, at the largest trade union in New York City, (1199/SEIU), Lynne Burmeister vividly demonstrates the difference that her staff of social workers in the Member Assistance Program of the union’s National Benefit Fund is able to make for the 240,000 healthcare workers that they serve and their families. From a public employer’s perspective, Ronnie Sue Jaffe adds the point of view of the NYC Transit Authority, whose 48,000 employees are responsible for transporting 7 million New Yorkers every day. None of us wish our subway conductor or bus driver to be impaired, given their safety sensitive position, which devolves a great responsibility upon the Employee Assistance Program which she oversees.

From a corporate position at Pfizer, Carolyn McIntyre plays several roles – as an EAP counselor, creator of an eldercare initiative, and as a human services consultant to human resources. In her many roles, she has become an influential social worker at a 155 year old firm that is one of the 50 largest corporations in America.

Pursuing a different service model, as an external occupational social work provider, Jeffrey Diaz’ nonprofit Employee Development Center serves more than 50 employers in the City who prefer to contract for EAP services. In addition to individual EAP counseling, his Center offers a wide variety of wellness and primary prevention programs, onsite crisis intervention and extensive human resources consultation.

From the focus group summary, one can see “up close and personal” the remarkable contributions of social work led workplace initiatives at various, public and private, New York City institutions. Each situation tells its own powerful story of social work practice at its best – exemplifying basic tenets of practice, i.e., a person-in-environment approach, an ecological perspective, evidence-based focus, a systems sensitive commitment, and a prevention and empowerment orientation. You see social work in action – holding fast to the historical commitment of our profession, providing innovative human services, and promoting progressive social change. We hope you enjoy this special issue.

Professors Kurzman and Akabas are co-authors of Work, Workers and Work Organizations: A View from Social Work (Prentice-Halll,1982); Work and Well-Being: The Social Work Advantage (NASW Press, 1993); and Work and the Workplace: A Resource for Innovative Policy and Practice (Columbia U. Press, forthcoming, 2005).

Back to World of Work Page                 Back to Home Page