The Strategies of Empowerment Developed by Social Workers in Taiwan

• Main Authors: Sheng-Ying Hsieh, 謝盛瑛
• Other Authors: Yen –Yi Huang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/94849459922966215425

碩士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 社會政策與社會工作學系 === 101 === Most of the literature around the issues of empowerment is focused on how to empower clients. Front-line social workers' shortage of power and resources are likely to make them feel disempowered when confronting injustice for their clients. Therefore, how to empower social workers becomes an important issue. This study aims to explore social workers' experiences of powerlessness and disempowerment in their workforce, as well as the strategies created by social workers to overcome their disadvantages in bureaucracy and to empower themselves. An in-depth interview method was employed to interview four experienced social workers. Each had initiated diverse empowerment strategies at the personal, interpersonal and collective level. The results of this study showed several findings of interest. First, their strong commitment to social work led them to overcome difficulties. They were agentic actors and capable of integrating the values, knowledge, and skills of social work. Second, they initiated a range of strategies, including personal and collective efforts, to negotiate with agencies. Third, when a social worker felt empowered, they were capable of dealing with negative emotions, being active in policymaking, and ambitiously pursuing their career development. Fourth, networking was valuable at an interpersonal level for social workers. Fifth, collective action and alliance were important means through which to fight for the rights of clients and of social workers. In sum, this study highlights that the key to empowerment is power. It is important for the social worker community to cultivate social workers' abilities of critical reflection and to advocate for the right to work and the issues of labor.