Job and Employee Support Groups: Past and Prologue

This article explores the nature and scope of support groups that focus on job and career issues. A review and analysis of such groups in single organizations, on the Internet, and in other venues is presented, as well as related writings drawn from both the support group and career development literature. Implications for career development practice and research are then offered. Although the purposes, structure, formats, and outcomes of these groups vary, when viewed collectively, they represent potentially helpful adjunctive support for clients who are receiving assistance from professional career counselors and developers.     

Towards Accountability in Social Work: Long Term Social Work in an Area Office

Summary This article reports the results of monitoring the social workof two long term teams in an area office throughout one yearwith the help of a computerized Case Review System. It describesthe characteristics of some 1,400 long-term cases of whom 61%were disabled, visually handicapped and/or elderly and 22% presentedproblems related to children and families. One of the outstanding features was the concentration on surveillanceand review visiting which was reported for nearly three quartersof these cases and was considered the most important socialworker activity in two fifths of them. In over half of theselong term situations no change was expected and nearly threequarters of the cases were to remain open indefinitely. Another striking feature was the somewhat uneven distributionof social work resources among the different problem groups.Although the physically disabled and/or elderly outnumberedthe child/family problems by two to one, they made up only 20%of the cases allocated to individual social workers, while almostall the child and family problems were allocated amounting to35% of all individual caseloads. But the disabled and elderlyreceived far more domiciliary services and aids to daily living. This exercise has brought into sharp focus the question of howto ensure continuous support and surveillance for the very frailelderly, as the occasional social work visit did not appearto be the appropriate means of support, rarely anticipatingor averting crises. The data highlight the challenge which chronically disorganizedand disturbed families present to social work skills. The outcomescast doubt on the wisdom of closing, within the intake stageas low priority, relatively early family problems, and on thesharp division into intake and long term teams. The general issue emerging is the need to formulate more precisesocial service strategies for those who require long term careby others to some extent—the very old and frail, the chronicallyphysically and mentally disabled and children in long term care—andwhat specific contributions social workers can usefully maketo this enterprise.     

RISK PREFERENCE AND THE WORK-LEISURE TRADE-OFF

The paper investigates the interrelationships between the wage rate, period of employment, work-leisure choice and the attitude toward risk. The model makes risk preference endogenous given external forces acting on individual choice. Beginning with assumptions normally considered consistent with risk aversion –––namely concave utility with respect to leisure and wealth along with perfect markets–––rational behavior consistent with the "insurance buying gambler" is shown to be a reasonable possibility. The theory also provides an explanation for the "repeating gambler paradox."     

ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIGINS: A LONGITUDINAL INQUIRY

Ever since Schumpeter identified the "animal spirits" of entrepreneurs as the driving force of markets, researchers have been trying to determine who is an entrepreneur and what factors breed entrepreneurial success. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, we first determine who pursues self-employment in their youth, and then who succeeds. There is a surprisingly high incidence of self-employment, but very low success rates. Significant correlates of both entry into self-employment and eventual success differ markedly by gender. (JEL 523)