In our demanding and chosen profession of Social Work, it’s vital we understand the concept of locus of control. It’s vital because not only do we have to internalize it for our own purposes, but we need to be able to effectively pass it along to our clients. Locus of control is the belief of the extent to which we influence or control events in our lives. If we have an internal locus of control, we believe that our mindset, actions, and decisions directly lead to our outcomes. If we have an external locus of control, we believe that fate, luck, and happenstance lead to our outcomes.
Social Workers who craft their lives using an internal locus of control will more often than not be in good physical shape. They make conscious decisions to eat healthy and exercise because they understand that these decisions lead to better body composition, better immune function, and less likelihood of injury. Folks who present an external locus of control have the mindset that genetics and/or luck and/or fate and/or even other people have an uncontrollable influence over their physical condition. People who subscribe to external locus of control leave their physical well being up to anything and everything except for themselves and in turn often get bitter when they’re forced to make time for illness and injury.
Social Workers who craft their lives using an internal locus of control mentally empower themselves to be resilient when adversity inevitably comes knocking on the door. The internal locus of control people will see the challenge as an opportunity for learning and growth and be rewarded with a sense of agency, improved problem solving, and better decision making. They will evolve into the “go-to” people sought out when the complexities of client crises and bureaucratic challenges inevitably show themselves. Those with external locus of control will see these inevitabilities as insurmountable and become resentful. They may blame a coworker or everyone else on the organizational chart. This can only go on for so long. Eventually, external locus of control people are forced to withdraw and agency turnover results. Leads us to the next section...
Emotionally, internal locus of control intensifies Social Worker’s ability to manage stress effectively and efficiently. When we believe in our own capacity to influence outcomes in our life, we naturally have lower levels of anxiety and depression. Our psychological resilience creates more supportive and empathetic interactions with our clients. Our psychological resilience, lower stress levels, and ability to control our emotions rubs off on our clients helping them approach their day to day with optimism and sense of empowerment as well.
Calls to action
1) Develop Self-Reflection Practices: We should actively work to maintain and even grow our internal locus of control over both professional and personal outcomes. Journaling is a good place to start. Prompts may include “What unique challenges did I face today?” “What did I do to overcome these challenges?”. “Did I approach these challenges as an opportunity or a burden?”
2) Participate in Assertiveness and Advocacy training: Take advantage of any training sessions that focus on assertiveness and advocacy skills. Assertiveness and client advocacy empower us as Social Workers to maintain professional boundaries and advocate for effectively for our clients. These two things reinforce our sense of control over our outcomes.
3) Supportive Peer Networks: Attend or, create if needed, peer support groups where attendees share experiences and strategies for attaining and maintaining a positive locus of control. These groups remind us that we’re not the only ones and provide opportunities to learn from our colleagues by discussing successes and challenges.
Gaining and then propagating a culture of internal locus of control among our Social Work peers will yield significant benefits. Physical, mental, and emotional. By internalizing this mindset and making it automatic, we will enhance our professional effectiveness and well-being and our clients outcomes will improve.
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