Professional Boundaries for Support Workers

Being a Support Worker can mean that you are involved in personal situations with clients and their friends or family members. You may be exposed to private or confidential information that is shared to you while you are working, and you may also be in scenarios where you are confronted with requests or conditions for support that are not suitable or appropriate within the context of your role as a Support Worker.

While it’s important the Support Workers ensure clients feel at ease with approaching and relating to them as best they can, it’s equally important the lines don’t become blurred. The relationship between an individual and their Support Worker should never come at the expense of maintaining clear professional boundaries.

PRIVACY

All clients have a right to privacy in their personal information, and workers should not seek information that is not relevant or necessary to the performance of their duties. Sensitive information received must be confidential, unless they have written or verbal consent of the member or their legal guardian. Support workers also have a right to privacy, and these boundaries will often need to be set with clients and families who may seek personal information about you or a personal relationship with you.

FRIENDSHIPS

The role of a Support Worker is to build, support and strengthen the existing social, family and community network of the client. The role of a friend is different from a worker’s and forms a conflict of interest in doing your job. Support Workers can find it difficult to set the boundary of being to close to their client as clients are often isolated, lonely and searching for friends, but the support works role is to build friendships, not be the friendship. Unprofessional relationships with the clients family members can also be inappropriate and risk blurring the boundaries of your professional relationship. Some risks for workers can lead too:

• Increasing/or unreasonable demands and expectations from the client or family
• High worker stress and burnout
• Inability to provide professional and objective support
• Difficulty setting limits and dealing with behaviour
• Distress when relationships break down
• Grief and loss for clients when workers leave

SETTING BOUNDARIES

It is important to be clear about your role and your goals and objectives right from the beginning. Here are some guidelines:

• Discuss your role with the client and/or legal guardian right from the beginning and be sure to set limits about inappropriate behavior (if relevant).
• Review how you are going with maintaining these boundaries on a regular basis. Sometimes all this takes is personal reflection at the end of each day.
• Keep your own family and personal life private and separate to your work – be careful about self-disclosure and providing too much personal information about yourself. Do not provide personal information about co-workers or other clients.
• Ask for help when you need it – being a Carer or Support Worker can be isolating with high levels of independence and responsibility.
• Discuss any concerns or worries about your own work with management.
  You also have a responsibility to speak to someone about concerns with other workers.

DUTY OF CARE

Support Workers have a duty of care to anyone who might reasonably be affected by their activities, requiring them to act in a way that does not expose others to an unreasonable risk of harm – physical, psychological or financial. As a worker, you are required to protect an individual from risks of injury or harm you can foresee or anticipate. This means you are required to act with knowledge of the individual (particularly about their disability and loving situation) and of your abilities, knowledge and limitations. You should not give assistance or advice outside your role or expertise (e.g. financial advice, family counselling or relationship advice).