Are social workers safe in their workplace? South Korean managers' views

Abstract

This study aims to identify the measures Korean social work administrators have implemented in their workplaces in order to ensure safe and comfortable environments for social workers. Here the authors present the results of an empirical study conducted in Metropolitan Seoul, South Korea, for which 240 administrators at social service agencies completed selfadministered questionnaires. Of those participating in the study, 47.3% reported that they had been informed of incidents of client violence, including verbal, physical, and sexual attacks. In terms of the types of violence described by the participants, verbal and emotional violence were those most frequendy cited. Despite the fact that line workers are exposed to various levels and types of client violence, the administrators lack a systematized approach to prevent such violence and have indeed taken minimal action to curtail it. Based on the results of this study, the authors have made recommendations to counter workplace violence.