Difference between Working Relationship and Personal Relationships: Opinion Essay

Explain how your working relationship is different from your personal relationships

A working relationship is different from a personal relationship, in the sense that one does not choose the people they will be working with, whereas one chooses their friends and partner. In the company I’m working now, even though we are given the choice to ask to change the care home we are currently working in, we cannot choose who the colleagues of the new care home will be.

Additionally, there is a set of rules that people have to follow in working relationships, such as being polite to each other, having clear boundaries, not being always late at work, and showing professionalism. While personal relationships also have boundaries, they don’t have as many as working relationships. In my workplace, the above rules apply, we have to treat each other with respect, show professionalism and arrive to work early. If one of the staff does not follow these rules, usually a complaint is being made to that person, or if that doesn’t resolve it, the complaint goes higher in the hierarchy.

In working relationships there is usually a hierarchy, the senior staff and the managers having more responsibility and making more decisions than the staff. In personal relationships there is also sometimes a hierarchy, however this is mostly ‘unwritten law’. In terms of law, all citizens are equal. In my workplace, my work role is not a senior one, so most of the planning ahead and paperwork is being done by the senior staff and the manager.

Additionally, in care work, the staff know more things about the clients than the clients know about the staff. The clients need support to live their lives, however, the staff do not need the support of the clients. In personal relationships, there is an interdependency and usually each person knows about the other person as much as they do for them. In my workplace, this rule applies, we know more about the clients than the clients know about us. We are allowed to share information with the clients about our personal lives, and that actually happens to a degree, however, we don’t have to disclose any information.

Finally, in working relationships there is an agreement where everyone has to work in a certain way, the “agreed ways of working.” For example, in my workplace, service users are not allowed to use the staff toilets and visa – versa. This is done to reduce possible spread of disease and for hygienic reasons. Also, we are not allowed to give gifts to the clients, because this might result in a type of relationship that doesn’t look like a working relationship. This however is very common in personal relationships, giving gifts to each other, because there are no agreed ways of working for personal relationships. There are, as mentioned earlier, ‘unwritten rules,’ however these are defined in a peer to peer manner and there are no employers involved.

Describe different working relationships in care settings. (What different working relationship are in your setting, who are they what do they do, what do they do in supporting your clients how is the relationship different from a personal relationship).

In my workplace, there are several different working relationships that exist. First and foremost, I have a relationship with the service users. The service users are adults with special needs, and they are living in their residence. My job is to support them and to assist them in doing what they can’t do for themselves, whether it is decision making, supporting them with daily activities, such as personal care, eating and accessing the community.

Another type of relationship that is developed in my workplace, are with the family members of the service users. I usually give the parents information about their cared family member, such as how he/she has been doing, if there has been any change in their medication that they should be aware of when the service user does a home visit.

There is also, the type of relationship that is developed between different colleagues. In order for this relationship to work, there has to be teamwork and good communication.

Additionally, there is the relationship between me and my manager. In this type of relationship, I am allocated tasks to do by my manager, and I’m receiving feedback after their completion. The manager can also give guidance to staff members on how to follow best practice.

The service users are registered other agencies, such surgeries. Their GP calls daily to ask how the clients are doing, and if they have a high temperature, or any other of the Covid symptoms.

Describe why it is important to adhere to the agreed scope of the job role (What is your job role what tasks, jobs, activities do you do. what would happen if you did not work to your job role and agreed procedures)

It is important to adhere to the agreed scope of the job role, because by doing so, I can have good performance at work. If I’m assigned duties I’m not proficient to do, I might put others at risk. It’s best to improve my skills on these areas that I’m not so experienced, before being assigned duties on them.

For example, in my workplace, I’m not cooking food that requires more skill, because I’m that experienced in cooking, and the clients might not like it. I would need to practice more at cooking, before I can cook the more complex recipes.

Additionally, by adhering to the agreed scope of the job role, I know that I’m accountable for the tasks that I’m assigned to do. That gives a clear structure in the company and there can be no misunderstandings.

Moreover, by doing what I’m expected to do and not deviating from my job role, it will be easier to receive feedback from my manager, because accountability would be possible, and the areas where I need improvement would be clear.

Doing what I’m supposed to do, also ensures the safety of everyone else, since, since I’m doing everything with competence, I’m also less prone to make mistakes that can cause harm to others.

For example, in my workplace, we have as a rule of safety not to leave toxic cleaning products, such as bleach, in the laundry room. We do that, because some of the service users might, out of curiosity, try to drink it, and that would be extremely hazardous for their health.

Finally, adhering to the scope of my job role can protect me from accusations that are false. If there is an incident and an investigation happens, if it can proved that I was not responsible for the incident, then the accusations can be dropped.

In my workplace, my job role is to support adults with special needs. That means assisting them on their hygiene, eating and sometimes mobility. I’m also expected to spend time with them and encourage them to engage in activities, such as playing darts, or singing or dancing. I also become a mediator between them and their family, facilitating in their better communication with technology. I also have to drive them to their day centers and also to their homes, if they want to spend time with their family. I also have to write online report on the company tablet and update them every hour and also I have to report to my manager. If I don’t follow my job role and start doing things I’m not allowed to do, I would most probably receive criticism, supervisions and/or a disciplinary.

Explain why it is important to work in partnership with others. Give an example of how partnership works in your care setting. Reflect on how this working with others.

It’s important to work in partnership with others, because by doing so, more information can be shared and thus the job goals can be achieved easier than if everyone was working for themselves. For example, in my workplace, one of the service users is very repetitive and anxious. I didn’t know how to deal with him, until I asked one of the staff members, who knew, and that staff member told me that he redirects that service user into doing some type of physical task, such as cleaning their room.

Additionally, working in partnership has a result not doing other people’s duties and thus losing time and energy. It also improves team spirit and makes the working environment positive for everyone.

In my workplace, for example, we always write in the daily duties sheet who has to do what. For that reason, because it’s clear who has to do what, doing something twice doesn’t happen very often. In my workplace also, there is good communication, conflicts are resolved fast and we are all working in an environment that boosts teamwork.

Identify skills and approaches needed for resolving conflicts. Give an example of where you have had to resolve a conflict and how you did this. What skills did you use to resolve the conflict?

In order to resolve conflicts, what is needed is empathy, honesty, assertiveness, enthusiasm and negotiation. The approaches necessary are effective communication, maintaining a positive attitude, and separating the person from the problem.

A workplace example was when I found out that one of my colleagues had accidentally forgot the company car keys inside the company car all night. I understood that probably he was exhausted and he forgot the keys accidentally, so, I was empathetic. The next day I confronted him, being positive and honest, explaining what had happened, without mentioning that he was the one who forgot the car keys inside the car. I didn’t say: “You forgot the keys in the car,” I said: “I found the car keys inside the car.” He told me himself that it must have been him, however there was no misunderstanding, because I didn’t blame him and make the problem appear like it was him. I did not have to explain the reasons why I confronted him, because they were obvious, and he made a note that he’ll try to keep in mind to check if he had taken the car keys with him next time.

Access support and advice about: a) Partnership working b) Resolving conflicts. Where would you access support and ask for advice about partnership working and resolving conflicts.

The first source I would look in my workplace would have been my colleagues and the senior staff or the manager. They have far more experience than me in this line of work, therefore they must have had more conflict experiences as well, so they probably have learnt something on how to deal with these situations. In the case my colleagues cannot give any effective advice regarding my conflict, my next would have been to seek advice from higher levels in the hierarchy of management, like the operations manager or the general manager. If that didn’t work, I would seek information online, find a website maybe that would give the advice I need. If I couldn’t find any information there either, I would seek the assistance of CQC, if the conflict regarded the care given to a service user, or ACAS, if the conflict was of a different nature.