Role of Social Workers

Social worker plays very important role in a society as they help for the development of society
in a correct way. Being a social worker is often a challenging, yet rewarding career. Social
workers are responsible for helping individuals, families, and groups of people to cope with
problems they’re facing to improve their patients’ lives. While working with
individual/group/community a social worker is expected to be knowledgeable and skillful in a
variety of roles. The particular role that is selected should be determined by what will be most
effective, given the circumstances. The major roles of social workers are as follow:

a. Mediator: As a mediator, a social worker should carry out the role of mediator when dispute
resolution is needed in order to accomplish goals. As a mediator, a social worker provides
resources for solving the problems. Social worker interviews in disputes between two or more
parties to help them to find compromises reconcile differences and reach mutually satisfying
agreements. The mediator takes a neutral stance among the involved parties.

b. Teacher: As a teacher social worker provides education about the problems that exists in the
society. He/she is an educator in the society. They provide knowledge about how to face the
problems that can occurs in the society with its remedies as well. They teach about proper
utilization of available resources in the society to solve the problem.

c. Moderator: it is the major role of the social worker. A social worker is the model creator or
role model in the society. As a moderator, a social worker creates new methodology or model in
new way to solve the problem. He/she can innovate things in new way for solving the problem in
different ways. It creates a new model of causes, effect and resources of the problem for its
solution in new techniques in the society.

d. Facilitator: Facilitator is another important role of social worker. As a facilitator, a social

worker facilitates the society for providing required resources. It accesses the resources to solve
the problem in the society. A social worker helps people for their self-realization and self-
actualization. They identify the problem with its causes and effects and help people for self-
realization. Social workers are involved in gathering groups of people together for a variety of
purposes including community development, self advocacy, political organization, and policy
change. Social workers are involved as group therapists and task group leaders.

e. Advocator: As an advocator, a social worker speaks on behalf of clients when others will not
listen or when clients are unable to do so. He/she should be able to advocate the people who are
in problem. He/she should show the right and wrong part of the problem and provide correct
decision. Advocator should have quality of convincing people about the problems. Social worker
advise people before facing the problem and when they are in real problem. Social worker as a
advocator has given a particular responsibility to advocate on behalf of those disempowered by
society.

f. Researchers: This is one of the important roles of social worker. Researcher means to study
on certain topic and conclude different information and knowledge. As a researcher, social
worker should know the cause and effects of the problem. In social work, a researcher should
study the behavior or situation of the society and identify whether it is the problem or not.
Researcher seeks to critically analyze the literature on relevant topics of interests and uses this
information to inform practice. The outcome of research is based on factual data and
information, so realistic would exist in the society. Researcher extends and disseminates
knowledge and seeks to enhance the effectiveness of social work practice.

g. Administrator/Manager: Most of the problem in the society exists due to the violation of the
law and policies. As an administrator, a social worker aware people about the violation of law.
As the law and policy is formed, it should be implemented in the society with proper supervision
and monitoring. So, social worker helps in implementing policy as administrator or manager.

h. Counselor: The role of the professional counselor focuses on improving social functioning. In
the role of counselor, the social worker helps client systems articulate their needs, clarify their
problems, explore resolution strategies, and applies intervention strategies to develop and expand
the capacities of client systems to deal with their problems more effectively. A key function of
this role is to empower people by affirming their personal strengths and their capacities to deal
with their problems more effectively.

As we are aware there are different fields of social work practice. Social work professionals
work with community, groups, families and individuals who are elderly, delinquent,
unemployed, or who have disabilities. The services of social workers are grouped within various
fields of practice as they relate to addressing specific social problems, meeting the needs of client
groups, or reflecting particular settings. The prominent settings include family and child welfare,
health and rehabilitation, mental health, occupational social work, community development,
education or school social work, social work in corrections, and aging services.
Objectives of Social Work:

The main objectives of social work are to:

1) Solve psycho-social problems: Individuals in the community may have many mental or social
problems that prevent them from achieving social development. One of the objectives of social
work is to help the individual to solve such problems.

2) Fulfil humanitarian needs: Every person in any community needs certain facilities and
provisions, as a human being. Social work tries to fulfill such needs of the people.

3) Solve problems associated with coping mechanism: Social work helps individuals develop the
skills they need to cope up with when things change or go wrong.

4) Create self-sufficiency: Self-reliance and self-sufficiency form the basis of development of an

individual. Social work helps people become self-sufficient.

5) Strengthen and create harmonious social relations: Happiness in the community can be
maintained only by harmonious social relations. Social work tries to prevent factors that affect
the development of harmonious relations.

6) Develop democratic values: In a democratic country, democratic values have meaning only if
all citizens follow them. Social work tries to develop these values in citizens.

7) Provide opportunities for development and social progress: There are many opportunities for
development and social progress which ordinary people may not be aware of. Social work
provides knowledge and information to people about these opportunities.

8) Change the environment in favour of individual’s growth and development: The situations and
circumstances around a person or community influence their growth and development. Social
work tries to change unfavourable situations into favourable ones in order to help the growth and
development of individuals.

9) Bring about changes in the social system for social development: Social work helps to change
practices in society which are out-dated or irrelevant.

10) Provide socio-legal aid: There are many people who are ignorant of social laws and the
support available to the needy. Social work provides such socio-legal aid.