No Money in Social Work: Negotiating Compensation for Social Workers

Nafees Alam

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The compensatory legitimacy of social work is closely tied to the societal legitimacy of the profession. Much like the trajectory of the nursing profession of old, social workers carry the burden of negotiating and advocating on behalf of themselves in achieving optimal compensation, indicative of their professional and academic accord. Accessing and interpreting organizational financials, being aware of potential dead-end promotions and alternatives to higher compensation and formulating strategies in negotiating compensation, practicing self-advocacy, are of utmost importance in this endeavor. The coalition of social workers across the nation can band together to achieve fair and just compensation for all social workers, beginning with BSW educators being mindful of the messaging around social work practice and compensation. If prospective social workers are taught to believe the fallacy of ‘no money in social work,’ they are likely to fall short of their career earnings potential.
Original languageAmerican English
JournalAnnals of Social Sciences & Management Studies
Volume4
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • compensation
  • negotiation
  • nursing
  • self-advocacy

EGS Disciplines

  • Social Work

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