The Effect of Supervising Nonprofessionals on the Role of the Community Worker

The purpose of this research was to examine potential differences between the roles of community social workers who supervise nonprofessional staff and those who do not supervise nonprofessionals. Although it was hypothesized that the social worker who supervises nonprofessionals would be freed for more professional roles and would spend less time on roles that do not require professional skill, such differences were not found. Both devote about 40% of their work to tasks that do not require professional skill. Some differences were found between the two groups in those role factors that require professional skill. The social workers who supervised nonprofessionals spent a greater proportion of their time in guidance and activation of neighborhood committees, whereas those who did not supervise nonprofessional staff devoted more time to complex and executive roles.