Values of Social Workers

Values of Social Workers and Examples of Those Values
Social Workers have a wide variety of values. Values are defined as “the implicit and explicit ideas about what we cherish as ideal or preferable” (DuBois, 1999, p119). This is stating that values provide a guideline for preferred behavior. The fundamental values underlying the social work profession include: (1) service to others, (2) social justice, (3) dignity and worth of the person, (5) importance of human relationships, (6) integrity, and (7) competence. What follows are some descriptions of two of these values, dignity and worth of the person and social justice, as well as examples of these (DuBois, 1999).
People have unconditional value and are inherently worthy of respect. The idea that there is a general quality behind all differences in ability, value, and circumstance, that qualifies people as having worth and value, is the foundation for the concepts of human rights. The United Nations’ Universal Decla...