Case Study: Class-Based Conflict In The Workplace

This ethical study will define a particular class-based conflict that I have experienced in the workplace as a caseworker for a foster care service in Harlem. In one particular case, I had a conflict of interest with a particular client that felt that I did not thoroughly understand their circumstances in terms of class status. The client assumed that I was too “well-off” to understand the life of poverty tht had created so many problems in her life. However, the client was unaware that I had also grown up being “poor” as an African American. More so, I had been fortunate enough to get a good education at a prestigious university and raise myself out of poverty. This case certainly defines an example of a class-based conflict of interest, which the NASW code of ethics resolves by identifying the class conflict with the client. I was able to remove myself from the case due to this perceived class bias, since the client was unable to find trust in our relationship. In essence, I will define an example of a class-based conflict as a caseworker in Harlem within the context of the Conflict of Interest rules of the …show more content…
At the core of this problem was the issue that tht client felt that I could not serve her best interests because she did not trust my class background. In my mind, I had learned about these conflicts in social work sessions, which is always intended to bring about “the empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (Reamer p.19). Of course, I felt that the client was too biased in their view of my appearance, which allowed me to utilize the NASW as a way to provide the most un-biased form of social work for this particular individual. In the NASW Code of Ethics, the rules on Conflict of Interest define this difficult position I was put in when dealing with this particular