Professional and personnel risks in social work

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of professional and personnel risks in social work. From the end of the twentieth century in management theory personnel is the main resource of an organization and the determining factor of its success. Moreover, the issue of professional and personnel risks is becoming increasingly important in analyzing modern organizations. At the same time, social-oriented non-profit organizations engaged in social work do not pay much attention to analyzing and developing strategies to prevent professional and personnel risks compared to commercial organizations. Professional risks are risks that associated with a professional activity and that directly affect the personality; they are capable to change personal behavioral and emotional reactions to certain events. The professional risk of social work in the article refers to the risk of professional deformation, the risk of «burnout syndrome», the risk of «professional fatigue». Personnel risks are the negative consequences in functioning of an organization because of activity or inactivity of its personnel. For example, the most likely personnel risks in social work are the risks associated with the recruitment, selection and selection of personnel; personnel adaptation risks; motivation risks; risks of inefficient use of staff, etc. Consequently, to prevent professional and personnel risks in non-profit social-oriented organizations engaged in social work the article proposes the following: supporting for the employees initiative; exchanging of experience both inside and outside the organization; creating opportunities for career advancement and development; creating opportunities for changing activities; psychological training for employees; training activities to monitor and effectively allocate personal resources; corporate events and leisure activities. In practice, all these measures should be comprehensive and used at the individual, group and organizational levels, relate to professional and personal characteristics of employees of non-profit social-oriented organizations engaged in social work. Moreover, the head of a particular non-profit social-oriented organization engaged in social work must develop the unique strategy of professional and personnel risks management, taking into account its specific conditions.