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Although employment is central to the lives of social work clients, it is seldom a focus in social work education. The authors conducted a survey of field instructors in a large MSW program to assess the importance of work-related issues in the lives of those they serve in their social service agencies. This experienced group of practitioners reported how work-related issues affect individual clients and their caseloads generally. Respondents were asked about low-wage employment, lack of skills, disabilities, work-family balance, and problems that clients experience on the job. The results document actual problems encountered in practice and highlight the need for more attention to work-related issues in social work education. (Contains 5 tables.)

Employment and training is becoming more critical than ever for success in the workplace. Faced with increased global competition, emphasis is being placed on the quality of a workforce, particularly with regard to creating more flexible approaches and ensuring quality goods and services. This article reviews the participation of the University of Michigan School of Social Work with joint union-management teams in two innovative auto industry education/training programs. The author explores the organizational context and the specific challenges involved in working in the workplace as a 'host setting'. Lessons learned from this experience are discussed along with the broader implications for social work and income adequacy. Keywords. Union management teams, host setting, quality control, global competition

The assessments of faculty performance for the determination of salary increases are analyzed to estimate interrater reliability. Using the independent ratings by six elected members of the faculty, correlations between the ratings were calculated and estimates of the reliability of the composite ratings were generated. (Author/MLW)

The Redundancy Payments Act of 1965 established the idea that an employee has property rights to a job based on years of company service. It instituted an entitlement program for displaced workers sponsored by firms and the government. The British layoff situtation differs from that of the United States. (Author/CH)

Shift work is a fact of life for many workers. Almost one in six full-time hourly and salary employees works a shift outside the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. window that researchers use to define the temporal bounds of the traditional workday. Almost half of those working in restaurants and bars work such alternate shifts, as do more than a quarter of workers in hospitals and manufacturing facilities. Drawing on interviews and observations in a Midwestern auto parts plant, this study explores how individuals in this predominantly male workforce talk about fulfilling family responsibilities in the face of relatively inflexible shift schedules. Interviews and observations reveal how the time pressures of shift work, particularly the afternoon-evening shift, affect the ability of fathers to participate in their children's activities, especially organized sports. Without formal options for scheduling flexibility, workers turn to a variety of informal approaches, such as ad hoc arrangements with sympathetic supervisors or the assistance of coworkers in covering for absences. In extreme cases, workers may engage in independent actions, often placing their jobs at risk. These findings contribute to the literature on work-family conflict and the gender dynamics of work-family life programs. By emphasizing the importance of including fathers in the work-family equation, they have practical implications for both employers and policymakers concerned with addressing the challenges of helping a contemporary workforce strike an equitable balance between work and family life. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]