Introduction
A helper is someone who assists the customer with specific tasks. He can be either a high-level specialist in a complex profession or a person without special qualifications. The range of activities, accordingly, is extensive: from assistance in serious research to performing small household errands (Corey & Corey, 2020). This paper aims to explore the profession of a helper, address its ethical implications, and propose solutions for solving debatable cases.
The Role and Scope of a Helper
The helper’s job is to provide some help, as the name implies. This term has come to refer to a type of activity that is typically paid for either financially or by providing benefits. Helpers can provide unskilled services that do not require special skills or knowledge (Corey & Corey, 2020). Yet it is also not uncommon for helpers to become precise in a narrow area in which they are well-versed; for example, this is practiced in various online games where the help of an experienced player, hints, and explanations are required. Often, helpers’ services are episodic or one-time.
Ethical Responsibilities in Helping Professions
As previously mentioned, the helper’s primary duty is to assist. This suggests that this person primarily assists with the execution of the main work and does not actively participate in it. The idea is that while the event could occur without harm or assistance, it would be better, faster, and easier if there were. Duties vary depending on the specifics of the assistant’s involvement. The prevalence of assistance in various activities today makes it occasionally challenging to categorize them (Corey & Corey, 2020). The employer establishes the precise parameters of their work by outlining the task, the particulars of its implementation, and other elements necessary for the assignment’s proper completion.
Personal Boundaries and Professional Requirements
Helping is often a means to work part-time in a familiar sector without compromising a person’s primary interest. For instance, someone who lives close to a difficult-to-access attraction can drive tourists there, while a traveler can easily double as a co-traveler or guide. Currently, the tasks performed by assistants can vary widely. They might offer domestic aid, courier services, gaming services, online action-taking, or even wait in line at the polyclinic. A helper at an event is a relatively standard and varied service. Here, everything depends on the direction, topic, and structure; the assistant may greet guests, coordinate, hand out refreshments or training materials, or assist in setting up and moving props.
Regularly, social service workers are helpers, as they contribute significantly to assisting people with a variety of issues. Most often, such employees serve as counselors or simply individuals to talk to. It is conditioned by the idea that many people experience hardships and need someone to confide in and receive support from. These facts suggest that a helper’s work entails ethical considerations, as working with diverse individuals imposes specific professional requirements.
Violations of Professional Principles
Value Imposition
Primarily, helpers are accountable for their clients’ well-being while respecting their right to self-determination, their cultural heritage, and avoiding conflicts. Many people have their own set of norms and values stemming from their ethnic, racial, religious, gender, and other factors (Corey & Corey, 2020). It signifies that having an established worldview should not impede helpers. In turn, they must take into consideration one’s outlook and help add more meaning to it.
One of the most common ways a helper might ruin this ethical principle is by imposing their own values on others. For instance, Mark works as a helper in a counseling organization, assisting clients while they wait to see their psychologist. Once, he needed to talk to a woman who had just suffered the death of a beloved husband before the session to provide support. The female is grieving and says that all she can do is pray to the Lord to save her. Meanwhile, Mark makes a comment suggesting the nonexistence of God, whereas the client is quite religious. Such behavior contradicts the idea of total acceptance of one’s views. As a result, the client may be disillusioned and fall into more profound trauma.
Nonetheless, this ethical dilemma can be solved by training helpers to maintain personal boundaries. This concept has gained popularity in psychology and has also garnered recognition in other fields. Hence, personal boundary maintenance can be applied to a helper’s work in several ways (Corey & Corey, 2020). Firstly, a professional should not oppose another’s views, even if they are totally different, because it may ruin trust. Secondly, helpers should focus on individuals and their requests rather than their own personal perceptions. In general, respecting a client is a key principle for providing adequate assistance.
Confidentiality and Professional Accountability
The other ethical concern pertains to confidentiality and the non-disclosure of information. In some cases, it is challenging for a person to establish a trusting relationship with a helper because of the fear of vulnerability. For instance, a social organization helper named Joanne decides to tell her friend about a person she had assisted. Meanwhile, her friend knows that individual and can easily report this information. Thus, personal boundaries should be maintained, and professionals should be trained to adhere to the principle of confidentiality.
In social work, helpers must take personal responsibility for any unfavorable effects of their decisions on their clients and society. A knowledgeable helper, who understands the nature of the client’s problem, their needs, and the social protection system’s capacity to address them, can create a collaborative action plan with the client (Reamer, 2019). Their obligation is more serious than the client’s. The client typically only cares about achieving their own benefit. Still, the social worker should consider how the decision will affect both the client and the entire society, and, if possible, mitigate any conflicts between the parties’ interests.
For example, if a client seeks advice from the helper, the professional should provide it from a neutral perspective. It presumes that the helper does not have to incorporate their own experience and views on the matter. Nonetheless, such cases are common due to a lack of expertise in relationship ethics. Therefore, it can be improved by teaching helpers to apply basic ethical principles to their liabilities.
Selflessness and Financial Ethics in Social Work
An essential component of social work ethics is selflessness. The fact that a helper obtains a fair wage for their services, despite being self-employed, is not in conflict with this. Since the client does not pay for a specialist’s services, selflessness is evident in the connection between a social worker and his client (Reamer, 2019). Even though he performs the work and the institution pays for it, if the client receives compensated services, the social protection institution handles this rather than a separate social worker. Such unintentional financial ties between a social worker and a client allow for consideration of both parties’ lack of pecuniary interest in one another and their altruistic motivations.
The fact that a social worker frequently goes above and beyond what is required by their position is another example of their selflessness. For instance, Joseph is a new helper at a charity organization. He is not aware that all services are either prepaid or provided free of charge. Hence, he decides to charge a client after consulting them about food provision. This case comes to the attention of his manager, who decides to take him to court and compensate the client. Such situations are not rare; hence, they can be prevented by introducing strict measures concerning charging individuals. Additionally, this can be addressed by informing all employees and requesting that they sign the documents to provide consent for the provision of altruistic services.
Conclusion
In summary, the role of a helper is gaining popularity now, as numerous organizations demand extra assistance in multiple fields. Their direct responsibilities cover a wide range of services; typically, they complete modest assignments or tedious jobs that do not require specialized knowledge or skills. Their work is frequently done on a one-time or contract basis.
Helpers are requested to complete urgent duties and straightforward tasks that require significant time from event organizers. However, in social work, helpers may encounter a range of ethical issues, including confidentiality, altruistic service provision, acceptance, and responsibility-taking. All of these problems can be avoided by advising helpers on the basic principles of work.
References
Corey, M., & Corey, G. (2020). Becoming a helper (8th Ed). Cengage Learning.
Reamer, F. (2019). The Routledge handbook of social work ethics and values. Routledge.