You have been working with a young person for over a year. They are about to leave the service as they are now too old for your target group. They mention that they have a gift for you in appreciation of the work you have done for them. They will bring the gift tomorrow.
What issues are relevant to this dilemma? What should you do?
If there is no policy in place at the organisation around the receiving and acceptance of token gifts this would be a great time to do one. A small gift to a limited dollar value as an appreciation is quiet acceptable e.g box of chocolates, bunch of flowers or the like. It would also be a good idea at this time to set up a register at the organisation so small gifts that are received by staff can be registerd with a date and a note of the gift. There is learning and social issues that are evident in the young person by them wanting to show their appreciation that should be encouraged and supported. The young person and other clients of the service should also be made aware of and informed of the organisations policy around this at the time that they mentioned they would like to give a gift.If it is not acceptable to the organisation for a token gift of thanks to be given, the young person wanting to give the gift should be told this straight away by the worker along with acknowledgment from the worker that the gesture is very much appreciated and valued.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting dilemna as often in residential settings one of the limitations young people have is appropriate social skills. To offer a gift in appreciation of care and support given in our society is recognised as common good manners and socially desirable behaviour. to have policies in place that necissitate rejection of that gift (and may be perceived as rejection by the young person)could be quite confusing in this respect. I agree that a register or aknowledgement system by staff is a good idea so everything is transparent.
ReplyDeleteThis is a dilemma that often can occur especially when a youth worker is with a youth for an extended period of time. In our society, giving gifts is a popular way to show appreciation and gratitude towards a person who has made an impact on one's life or who they care about. I think there is no reason why a youth should not be able to give a gift as long as the gift is in a reasonable price range and not going too far outside the boundaries. If there are policies against gift giving and the gifts are not permitted, the youth may feel rejected and might feel neglected by the person they were trying to give the gift to. There are no need for these feelings to occur when the youth is just trying to give back a little bit to what was given to them. Overall, I think gifts should be able to be given (as long as it's a reasonable amount) and that companies or programs need to meet to talk about such policies to put them in place.
ReplyDeleteOne also needs to consider the cultural implications of gift giving and recieving prior to making any judgements, however, this needs to be done within boundries as previously mentioned.
ReplyDeleteAs already stated. The residance or organisation the youth worker works for or both, should keep some sort of record. In the odd event it seems a worker is misusing their position or client being overly rewarding.
ReplyDeleteTo quote and agree with: "To offer a gift in appreciation of care and support given in our society is recognised as common good manners and socially desirable behaviour. to have policies in place that necissitate rejection of that gift (and may be perceived as rejection by the young person)could be quite confusing in this respect."
- I too believe to disregard a gift, could be very damaging and if any establishment was to have a policy of gift refusal, i would try to challange this.
We work with young people to teach them respect and appreciation, i feel it would be a bit hypocritical to reject something that we ourselves have spent so long educating them about. This is how society works, we recognise those who are part of our lives and/or those who have helped us in some way. For a young person to show such appreciation could be a major milestone in their personal growth or journey and it should be respected. As youth workers we are expected to have a sense of cultural understanding and in many of these cultures, gift giving is a sign of acceptance and trust and should also be respected. I understand the use of a register for record keeping purposes but lets be honest here, not many of our clients would be able to afford more than the box of chocolates or bunch of flowers anyway so I don't see it as being a major issue. If you do feel personally uncomfortable about recieving the gift then accept it with subtle conditions..."thanks for the bunch of flowers, lets put them in a vase in the youth centre so that everyone can enjoy them" or "I appreciate the chocolates, how about we share them during drop-in". We all whinge and complain that our job is thankless and then we turn around and try to prohibit these gestures. The sector has become very frustrating in recent years and this is another example of why.
ReplyDeleteI think the acceptance of a token gift from an appreciative young person demonstartes learnings that need to be supported. Scceptance of the gift is tantamount to acceptance of that young person's effort and desire to show appreciation... the reverse would have negative associations attached to it.
ReplyDeletei found myself in a situation like this last year when i was leaving a youth service after many years. during a closure session, a young person with whom i had been working for 7+ years gave me a number of gifts of nominal value by way of appreciation. my strategy was to accept the gifts, thank the young person and incorporate their gesture into the session by reflecting on how this was another example of their growth & emerging maturity.
ReplyDeleteafterwards i advised my manager and team of the gifts. one of the gifts was an unframed art work which the young person had created during their time at the centre. when my colleagues asked me what kind of farewell gift i wanted from them, i asked them to contribute to the cost of framing the art work. it now hangs in my lounge room, a stunning testament to the privilege i experienced in working with such talented young people.
I have no issue with it. But I would suggest as a manger or team leader you should be aware it happens. It is up to the personal policies / circumstances of the event. I believe some workers deserve a gift of appreciation and if the young person, family whom-ever wants to give that gift then that is fine. I'd suggest you all watch "Pay It Forward" and see the true nature of gift giving. We are in this work to help and should be humble if a gift ever comes out way but most often they are deserved. I know of other work-places as well as my own that have no issue with it. I think it's been a little green with envy to say it should not be done.
ReplyDeleteCya.
When a youth either wants to give you a gift or has given you a gift, I feel you should tell your supervisor about it as soon as it happens, this will make sure you weren’t incriminated in anyway.
ReplyDeleteYou also need to make sure that the gift is not of high value, if it was to be you would not except it, this may cause the youth some grief but you may need to explain to the youth the reasons as to why you can’t take the gift from them, i.e.: dollar value, jewellery
If you did do so this could also give the youth the wrong idea.
the thought that a young person is appreciative of the help and care that they have received should allow us to show the compassion that is essential as a worker in this field and accept the gift as a token of the relationship that has been fostered. this may be subject to policy within some organisations but it cannot not take away from the human element that makes the the thought process so important in our intellectual development.
ReplyDeletethe issue of gift giving may also become difficult if the worker has cultural or religous values at odds with giving or receiving gifts so that should be explained to the young person if the gift cannot be accepted
my response to this scenario depends on your organizational policies around accepting gifts.If there is a policy in place follow that if there is not it is time to set one up.I also think depending on the type of organization you work for there is a risk of the gift you are recieving could be stolen,so alot of the times a young person that you have been working with for a while so you as a worker know some aspects/facts about the young person ie:they are good at grafitti,poetry etc and if they really want to give you a gift inform them that they have a talent and you would really like something they have made for you.
ReplyDeleteI have often been given small gifts by the youth I work with-End of year, Christmas etc. The organisation I am with is voluntery and I am unaware of any policy on this. I certainly will be checking it out at the first chance I have. I have always taken it as a thankyou for what has been done for the givers in our voluntery situation. It has never been anything of huge value, but I have believed that it was the thought that counts. I would certainly rethink this if I were given an item of large monitory value and probably return it. The youth I work with give with pride and I would hate to have to reject their gift and to explain why. If it happened that way, the explanation would be critical as not to damage the pride of the youth.
ReplyDeleteI think in a situation where acceptance of the gift is not going to create bias or favouritism towards the client, there is no harm in it.
ReplyDeleteThis young person is leaving, you will probably never see them again so it won't have that sort of impact on your work to take the gift. If on the other hand they offered you a wad of cash during your active casework with them, that could come back to bite you in all sorts of ways.