Outside the Box

I was chatting with a fellow social worker the other day who spends her off time taking belly dancing classes. We got to talking about her love of dance and how much of my free time is spent within the theater community and it's led me to wonder what other fields and areas social workers feel connected to.

In the generations past, it was expected that a working person (typically male) had one job in one field at one company until retirement. As companies and loyalties changed, it became more acceptable to switch companies, but there still seemed to be an assumption that a person had one career. Now though, when the economy may not allow us the "American Dream" in terms of property ownership or giant nest eggs, more folks than ever are finding a different version of their ideal life, one based on happiness more than on possession.

It certainly makes it interesting to figure out what to put on one's personal business cards, doesn't it? If I were to include everything, I suppose mine would say, "Professional Social Worker/Writer/Educator/Associate Producer/Public Speaker/Activist/Advocate/Blogger/Columnist" and whew, the business card would need to be the size of a full sheet of paper!

What would YOUR business card say if it included everything you do?

Is It Genetic?

Just about 18 months ago, I had the lucky fortune of being able to sit around a table with a handful of relatives, spanning 4 generations. As we flipped through handed-down photo albums and tried to identify the people in the yellowed photos, I was writing down the memories being shared about each person. I began to notice a pattern; this side of my family tree had a surprisingly large number of people involved in social work.

It's caused me to wonder whether there may be some predisposition to our field. I'm not thinking just about who has attended a collegiate program or who has a license, I'm also considering who was known around the family (or around town) for being the go-to problem-solver, the one to turn to with problems, the one who took in the orphans, etc.

Do any of you have other social workers or those who were known for being "helpers" in your families?

What They Aren't Saying But Are DEFINITELY Thinking...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-Things-Your-Boss-Isnt-usnews-493657782.html?x=0 This article is called 10 Things Your Boss Isn't Telling You.

In the article, the author discusses things that your boss might not write on your evaluation or call you into a meeting about but that are effecting her/his view of you and your ability to do the job.

This leads me to wonder, what do you wish you were able to tell a co-worker? What do you wish someone would have told you sooner? How might you have benefited had you had the information sooner?

50 Ways to Use a Social Work Degree

As part of Social Work Month, NASW has unveiled a new site on 50 ways to use a social work degree. The site, "One Profession, Countless Possibilities," profiles 50 different social workers and shows the diversity of the profession. Click the title above to go to the "50 Ways" site.

And if you want to read MORE stories of social workers, I have edited or co-edited three books of first person stories from social work practice:

Days in the Lives of Social Workers: 54 Professionals Tell "Real-Life" Stories From Social Work Practice (3rd Edition)

More Days in the Lives of Social Workers: 35 "Real-Life" Stories of Advocacy, Outreach, and Other Intriguing Roles in Social Work Practice

Days in the Lives of Gerontological Social Workers: 44 Professionals Tell Stories From "Real-Life" Social Work Practice With Older Adults (with Dara Bergel Bourassa)

These three books represent stories of 133 social workers in different settings and different roles!

You can check them out at http://www.daysinthelivesofsocialworkers.com and/or order at http://www.socialworker.com/home/blogsection/Publications/

There is a special price for the 3-book set.