Agency-Based Social Workers' Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Service-Related Unsolicited E-mail

Abstract

A survey of 470 social workers in 17 agencies in central Pennsylvania explored attitudes and behaviors related to receiving unsolicited e-mail (UE). Results found that receiving UE is not an uncommon occurrence, with more than one-half of social workers receiving UE from strangers and one in six receiving UE from consumers. Social workers differed in their responses to UE, with approximately threefourths answering UE from consumers and one-fourth answering UE from strangers. Responses to UE were related to individual attitudes as well as to agency policy. There is considerable variation in agency policy and only 60% of the social workers in this study knew whether their agency had an e-mail policy and only 15% knew if the policy included UE. Implications for agency policy and further research are discussed.