Occupational Social Work Education for Employee Assistance Practice

ABSTRACT

This article explores the current state of Occupational Social Work/Employee Assistance (OSW/EA) education. It examines the relationship between social work curricula, field placement experiences, and entry-level employment opportunities in the OSW/EA field. It is based on an educational initiative called the Partnership for Employee Assistance Education. Drawing on the OSW/EA literature, surveys, and focus group materials, the article concludes that the nature of OSW/EA is being reshaped by information technology, shifting demographics, globalization, and evolving terms and conditions of employment. The authors discuss how the graduate-level OSW/EA curriculum and field placements are being transformed to reflect these trends. Concepts such as Organizational Social Work and organizational intelligence are discussed. Innovative educational strategies are recommended. Finally, the authors argue that the contemporary workplace offers potential opportunity for innovative social work practice and education.

KEYWORDS:

• occupational social work (OSW)
• employee assistance program (EAP)
• social work education
• field placement
• industrial social work
• organizational social work
• organizational intelligence

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The participating Hunter College School of Social Work has a long-standing commitment to the OSW field dating back to the 1970s. Faculty members such as Paul A. Kurzman and Florence Viglante were early and persistent advocates for the significance of the workplace as a locus for social work intervention (Kurzman & Akabas, 1981; Vigilante, 1982). The school has had a significant history of educational partnerships with the authors’ employer. The authors’ EAP, situated in a major academic health care institution, was established in 1977 and has provided EA field practicum opportunities for social work students since 1978.

2. As a direct result, the Partnership has been able to accept eight MSW students for training at the Mount Sinai Health System’s EAP. Three of these students are currently in training, and two of the graduates have secured employment as EAP counselors.

3. In this context, the value proposition refers to the return on investment an organizational consumer receives from its EAP provider.

4. Little is currently known regarding these placements and the educational opportunities they offer.

5. For example, increased numbers of social work graduates are accepting terms and conditions of employment that are temporary or on a project-specific basis. This seems to have great appeal to millennials seeking opportunities in the so-called gig economy (Sundararajan, 2015). Similarly, increased numbers of boomers are seeking nontraditional employment relationships as they transition toward retirement (Starace, Van Horn, & Zukin, 2015).