SOSYAL HİZMET UZMANLARININ KARŞILAŞTIKLARI GÜVENLİK RİSKLERİ

Abstract

Although being safe is among the most basic human needs, the context in which we live and work also brings with its various security risks. While comprehensive studies on security risks experienced by employees in various sectors are encountered in the literature, there are not enough studies on security risks faced by social workers serving at-risk population groups. Therefore, the aim of the prepared thesis study is to evaluate the security risks, including work-related accidents, stress factors and violence, encountered by social workers working in the fields of medicine, forensics, women, children and the elderly, within and outside the organization, during working hours and in their private lives. This study, which aims to reach people who have directly experienced security risks, to present their experiences in depth together with their backgrounds and to present them systematically, was prepared in a qualitative manner and using a phenomenological design. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 social workers from each field, a total of 50, using a semi-structured interview form. The obtained data were brought together under meaningful themes using the thematic analysis method and the Maxqda qualitative data analysis program. As a result of the study, it was determined that social workers encounter security risks originating from human elements such as clients, relatives of clients, and employees and managers of the organization rather than instrumental and environmental risks. These security risks, which occur in the form of verbal and emotional violence originating from clients and relatives of clients; mobbing, threat of legal sanctions and inability to access counseling originating from employees and managers of the organization, do not carry a relatively vital risk. However, it was determined that this situation increases the work stress of the employees in the long term and causes them to have emotional difficulties. It was also determined that social workers do not feel safe because they can work with aggressive clients in unpredictable areas such as home visits, and that their own gender, age and work experience characteristics; and the socio-cultural characteristics of the client affect the security risks. It is thought that the use of technological devices, working in pairs, developing personal security measures and applying legal sanctions will contribute to the reduction of perceived security risks.