Social Workman What To Do Good Work
Kaite McDaniel
Sloan
W131
29 February 2012 The Meanings of Work Almost everyone in society will have to work at some point in his or her life. Having a job can teach someone several good qualities such as determination, ambition, dedication, and trustworthiness. However, what one learns from a job depends on several different factors such as the job itself and the work environment. Two factors people fail to realize exist are doing “good work” and doing “work good” and the difference between the two. Doing “good work” relates more to doing good deeds, or doing the right thing. Doing “work good” means being an outstanding employee and going above and beyond to do your job. The problem is that sometimes the two contradict each …show more content…
As a social worker she knows that how she does her job can have a significant impact on someone else’s life. Workman’s passage focuses mainly on her questions about policy: how is policy defined? How are policies established? Can there be exceptions to a policy? A social workers job is to help people better themselves, but what if a policy prevents them from doing so? There is no right answer to these questions. In her passage Workman tells the story of Dan, a social worker who broke policy by building better houses for his clients, and was fired (Workman 754). Policies are putting social workers in lose-lose situations. It’s as if they’re forced to choose between helping someone who truly needs it and keeping their job. Workman shares a personal experience of her own about an old Indian woman who used to support herself by selling handmade sweaters. Due to her severe arthritis the woman could no longer make sweaters and needed help making ends meet. After a few months of being on welfare the woman sold two sweaters and earned enough money to support herself for that month. According to policy Workman was supposed to take the woman off of welfare, but she didn’t and instead made no record of the old woman’s income increase. It was at that moment that Workman realizes even if she wanted to try to get the policy changed she would put the old woman’s welfare and her own job at stake. Workman’s experience, as well as Dan’s experience, is the perfect example of what it means to do “good
Sloan
W131
29 February 2012 The Meanings of Work Almost everyone in society will have to work at some point in his or her life. Having a job can teach someone several good qualities such as determination, ambition, dedication, and trustworthiness. However, what one learns from a job depends on several different factors such as the job itself and the work environment. Two factors people fail to realize exist are doing “good work” and doing “work good” and the difference between the two. Doing “good work” relates more to doing good deeds, or doing the right thing. Doing “work good” means being an outstanding employee and going above and beyond to do your job. The problem is that sometimes the two contradict each …show more content…
As a social worker she knows that how she does her job can have a significant impact on someone else’s life. Workman’s passage focuses mainly on her questions about policy: how is policy defined? How are policies established? Can there be exceptions to a policy? A social workers job is to help people better themselves, but what if a policy prevents them from doing so? There is no right answer to these questions. In her passage Workman tells the story of Dan, a social worker who broke policy by building better houses for his clients, and was fired (Workman 754). Policies are putting social workers in lose-lose situations. It’s as if they’re forced to choose between helping someone who truly needs it and keeping their job. Workman shares a personal experience of her own about an old Indian woman who used to support herself by selling handmade sweaters. Due to her severe arthritis the woman could no longer make sweaters and needed help making ends meet. After a few months of being on welfare the woman sold two sweaters and earned enough money to support herself for that month. According to policy Workman was supposed to take the woman off of welfare, but she didn’t and instead made no record of the old woman’s income increase. It was at that moment that Workman realizes even if she wanted to try to get the policy changed she would put the old woman’s welfare and her own job at stake. Workman’s experience, as well as Dan’s experience, is the perfect example of what it means to do “good