The results of a recent study showed that 96 percent of employees in this industry want these devices.
According to the results of a survey of the members of the National Association of Social Workers, mobile technology is a very important tool that allows those people to be able to do their job.
The survey asked two primary questions of the social workers and the responses were overwhelming.
The research was conducted by SocialWorkHelper.com and it asked two separate questions of the members of the association. The first was “Do you think mobile technology would help you do your job?” and the second was “Is mobile technology for social workers a priority for your organization?” The results were quite clear and showed that tech such as smartphones and tablets could play a critical role in the life of a social worker and in his or her ability to do the job well, conveniently, and efficiently.
Among the respondents, 96 percent said that mobile technology would be beneficial to their jobs.
On the other hand, the responses showed that social workers do not feel that their organizations think that mobile tech is as much of a priority as the individual employees do. When asked if their organizations feel that it is a priority, only 55 percent said that they felt that it was. According to the report on the research, it means that while the individuals feel that mobile devices could help them to do their jobs, they don’t feel that their organizations are prioritizing the tools that they need in order to be as efficient and as effective as they can be.
This isn’t good news for the industry, as that type of conflicting mindset can be damaging to overall morale and can result in worker frustration and even burnouts.
The report stated that the results of the survey indicated that mobile tools could be very helpful particularly in areas such as child protective services (CPS), and that the areas in which social workers can benefit the most from mobile technology includes:
• Less time spent on paperwork
• Greater access to useful information while in the field
• Reduced time with families and children
• Lower risk of burnout
• Improved data collection and information quality
