52 ● Kate van Heugten and Anita Gibbs
daily practice (Banks 2008), and they often do not do so until they strike a
critical dilemma or need to defend themselves against accusations of hav-
ing breached their code (van Heugten 2011b). Consequently, serious gaps
can emerge suddenly and without warning. For example, social workers and
other human service professionals have found that codes have not adequately
addressed major questions that arise in disaster contexts, when helping can
endanger a worker’s life or health, but service users will suffer severe distress
if they are abandoned (Rosoff 2008). Later in this chapter, Aleena’s situation
will be used to illustrate some of these less easily resolved dilemmas.
Another criticism that has been leveled against codes is that they are pre-
scriptive and therefore do not encourage practitioners to think through prob-
lems (Cowden and Pullen-Sansfacon 2014). Researchers have also found that
human service workers, including social workers, rate organizational rules or
codes more highly than they do professional codes (Hugman 2012). This is
understandable because organizational rules tend to more explicitly relate to
the problems that workers face on a daily basis. In addition, one’s employ-
ment may depend on abiding by organizational rules. This worker preference
for organizational rules can, however, negatively affect an occupation’s ethical
position and professional autonomy. For all their imperfections, professional
codes reflect a professional community’s principled thinking about rights
and responsibilities. All members of the professional community have input
rights into ethical codes (which is not the case with organizational rules),
and these codes are therefore widely accepted as reflecting that community’s
ethical beliefs. Furthermore, ethical codes provide service users with some
certainty around what they can expect from an encounter with a professional.
Codes can also help workers challenge organizational expectations if those
expectations conflict with professional principles (Hugman 2012).
Codes of ethics may not be available to human service workers who are
not members of professional organizations. Alternatives could include union
memberships or laws, such as human rights legislation, which might func-
tion as tools for making ethical decisions. As Banks (2012) noted, however,
laws can only point out what we may and may not do, not what we should
or should not do.
Historical Shifts in Thinking about Values and EthicsFrom this brief discussion of definitions, it is clear that professional values
and the ethical rules around their enactment vary between communities.
Values and ethical codes evolve, reflecting shifts in global and community
values. Those shifts in turn occur within economic, sociopolitical, and historical
contexts.