• Seneca College

• SSW 147 Field work seminar I

Motivations for Becoming a Helper
Cherise Dias
SSW147
Prof. Alyssa Keel
Seneca College
Running Head: MOTIVATIONS FOR BECOMING A HELPER
Two most Relevant Motivations
Different needs motivate various individuals to join the field of social work. For me, as a person,
the two requirements that related the most to me are the need to care for others and the need for
variety and flexibility.
The Need to Care for Others
When one cares for a family member, friend or relative, it shows the love and care that is
present for the person—coming from a country where facilities are not excellent for people with
disabilities. I was taught how to take care of my sister, who has cerebral palsy from a young age.
So, helping comes to me naturally as I was trained to do so. In India, we believe in joint family
systems as all the family members help out with the household chores and taking care of the elderly
as well. As a social worker, I feel the need to care for others as it motivates us to feel good at our
job as very few jobs give us emotional satisfactory. It motivates us to be better people and to
concentrate on something more spiritual than materialistic needs. It also helps us to get closer to the
people we care for, resulting in a more robust and firmer bond. The need to care for others also
allows us to empathize and understand the problem from another perspective. Caring for someone
who is terminally ill, suffering from depression, trauma, or a person who is physically disabled can
come with its challenges. Still, the sense of achievement one feels after overcoming those
challenges or obstacles is another reason; I feel motivated to take care of others. As we all know,
there are pros and cons to everything, and too much of everything is not good as there should be a
balance. The disadvantage of caring for everyone including family members and clients is that
there is a tendency of taking a little bit of advantage and a sense of co-dependency which can get
overburdening and exasperating at the same time. Being in the field of social work, one has to deal
with harsh and sad situations that can get overwhelming. It is highly essential and essential for one
to cater to their own needs and mental wellbeing as well, be it either personally or professionally.
2
The Need for Variety and Flexibility
The need for variety and flexibility are highly essential for a social service worker.
Since social work is a helping profession, we come across and experience different
cultures, ethnicities and therefore tend to work in various settings like Urban Communities,
rural communities, hospitals, rehabs, detention centres, etc. A social service worker may
even have to work with families, groups, individuals, couples, children and adolescents.
Flexibility in terms of timings and working with different target groups should be there like
it, in turn, helps us to be more accepting and open to different social issues. It also gives us
a thorough insight about society and its functioning. The work of a social worker can never
be monotonous.
Remaining Eight Motivations
Besides the two needs mentioned, there are eight more needs that motivate other individuals to
take up social work service as a profession.
The Need to Return a Favor
At times individuals tend to mirror their role models be it their parents, grandparents,
relatives, friend, teachers and this in turn also motivates them in joining a helping profession. A
lot of individuals join social work either because of the positive impact their role model had on
them or because of some personal experiences or hardships they have overcome. I do relate to
this need because the reason I joined social work was because of my sister who suffers from
cerebral palsy. This could go both ways as an individual can be thoroughly motivated to work for
a cause, or they can get affected by the social issues and trauma that they