Simon is studying group of employees at Helping Hearts, which is a

company that places children with foster parents. As part of the project,
Simon has collected an interview with a staff member and some other
sources. Now hes stuck on how to best pull together all of this information,
but he has noticed that there are many interactions between people and
they all seem to get along and have a healthy attitude toward work. You
have a portion of his notes from the project. Use this information to address
the prompts that follow.
1. After looking at all of his information, Simon believes that the employees
of Helping Hearts have cultivated an identity as a family, where they all work
together for common goals. Look at the pieces of data (pieces of information)
you have been given. Read each one. Highlight pieces of information that
answer the question: How is the identity of family formed and reinforced
collectively by these employees?
2. Now, look at those pieces of information. Write a sentence that ties
together those pieces of information, such as what could be used as a topic
sentence to a paragraph (hint, hint!):
Developing positive relationships within a professional setting are about
getting to know someone, being supportive, and understanding despite any
situation that may arise.

3. Use the topic sentence you wrote above and write a paragraph that can be
used to support it. Your paragraph must have at least one piece of
information from each of the sources given (Mennino article, Kentucky
Cabinet, and interview). Be sure to cite where you are finding information!
Developing a relationship takes time and commitment. Without either of
those two things, a positive relationship will not develop. Within the work
environment, developing a positive relationship is crucial to fostering a sense
of community and family amongst employees. According to Home-to-Job and
Job-to-Home Spillover, These types of workplaces have cultures that are
supportive of individuals so they feel they can ask for time offto balance
work and home (Mennino, Rubin, and Brayfield, 107-135). By allowing
individuals the ability to have personal time to balance both parts of their
lives they are fostering a sense of community. Sally Smith, and employee of
Helping Hearts, enjoys the company meetings, because we get to connect
with everyone else and see what they are doing without feeling like someone
is checking up on us. Allowing a time for employees to socialize also aids in

fostering a sense of family. To further drive home the point, The Kentucky
Cabinet for Health and Family Services states that Children can be in
temporary foster carethere will be a worker who is paired with the child to
help this process. The clients (foster children) are a major part of the social
workers lives and help draw the employees together. As stated by Sally
Smith, We become invested in the children who come through our offices
With time and commitment, a positive relationship can be developed within a
work environment.
Notes from article by Sue Falter Mennino, Beth A. Rubin, and April Brayfield,
published in 2005 in the journal Sociological Quarterly, volume 46. It was published
on pages 107-135. The article title was Home-to-Job and Job-to-Home Spillover: The
impact of company policies and workplace culture.
They studied spillover, which is the term for when experiences on one part of
life (such as home) affect experiences in another part of life (such as work).
An example of this that they use is that if an employee has a sick child, he or
she may not be as productive at work as that person would be without the
stress from home.
They argue that workplace policies that allow employees to take time to help
with family business are not as likely to help employees manage spillover as
is culture. These types of workplaces have cultures that are supportive of
individuals so they feel they can ask for time off or an adjustment to
schedules in order to balance work and home.
There was more job-to-home spillover than home-to-job spillover in their
study. Company policies had no effect on the levels of spillover but culture
did have an impact. When the culture was positive, people were able to
better manage the spillover and were happier in their jobs.

From the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services

More than 6,800 children are in foster care through the Kentucky Cabinet for
Health and Family Services
Children can be in temporary foster care, where the goal is to return the child
to the parents. There will be a worker who is paired with the child to help this
process.
From an interview with Sally Smith, a social worker at Helping Hearts
In order to get this job, I needed to have my masters degree in social work.
Prior to coming to Helping Hearts, I worked in a very different environment
where no one really talked to each other. I really like being able to interact
with my co-workers on a regular basis. I feel like we know each other.
Jane has been very helpful in letting me work out my schedule around other
obligations. I still work as much as I should if not more but if I need to
come in late to take my daughter to school, its ok. I dont feel like she or
anyone else will resent me for that because they understand that Im a
person too, not just an employee.
Our employee meetings are great because we get to connect with everyone
else and see what they are doing without feeling like someone is checking up
on us all of the time.

The children we work with are not part of the staff, but they are part of our
jobs. We become invested in the children who come through our offices and I
really do care about those kids and where they end up. I think everyone else
here has that same attitude. Its like your best friends child who is your
niece or nephew. Theres no blood relation but you have a strong bond
anyway.
When Jane started here, she cleaned up the break room so that we would
have a place to share meals together. That space has really helped us bond,
especially for people who are always running in 20,000 directions.
I dont feel like theres much competition here --- were all just trying to do
our best. I think the only thing we possibly compete over is Janes attention
because she has a lot on her plate and we all like working with her so much
that we want her to acknowledge our work.
I think if I left at this point, I would be very sad to leave my co-workers. Its
not about the physical space; the thing I love about this job is the people.