Occupational social work

OVER THE PAST decade, human service programs created specifi-cally for the complex of work, workers. and workplace have been embraced by the private and public sectors and by unions. These programs are not in themselves unique, nor do they address recently identified problems. Alcoholism, drug abuse, stress, mari-tal problems. relocation, emotional ill-ness. retirement, and termination are aspects of the human condition that have held the attention of clinicians and policymakers for some time. What is unique is the setting in which these issues are now addressed. His-torically, production goals of the cor-poration and the human and social needs of employees have existed in uneasy tension. Work concerns and personal concerns were assumed to be separate spheres, appropriately (ac-cording to conventional Wisdom) dis-tinct. Consequently, the introduction of human service programs such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and the proliferation of social workers within the occupational setting mark a new development for social work and for the U.S. workplace. Occupational social work today is quickly evolving from isolated set· tings into a widespread field of prac-tice. This evolution emerges from a rich historical context that is de-scribed at length in this article. It also raises within the profession of social work several fundamental issues that deserve discussion. These issues reflect both the tensions and the potential that characterize oc-cupational social work in the 1980s. LEGACY OF THE PAST The growth of occupational social work in the past several years has been dramatic. Less than 100 prac-titioners could be identified to par