The first steps in beginning an internship involve getting comfortable at your agency, and becoming familiar with the culture of the office and the work. Human services agencies vary widely in their approach to working with clients. Many agencies that work with youth embrace a more casual culture in order to put clients at ease. Some governmental agencies still follow a very formal and professional business culture. Some have policies that only regard the clothing of the employees, some agencies also have expectations of how their clients present themselves. Following are some tips and guidelines to help you develop confidence as you begin your fieldwork.

2.2.1 Looking the Part

Most placement sites will have a dress code of one type or another. During your interview or during orientation, take time to observe how others in the office are dressed. This can help guide you as you plan ahead. If you have already interviewed, you can ask your supervisor what is expected and then observe your colleagues during your first few days on the job.

Modern dress codes can feel like a minefield—many agencies that work with youth encourage a casual style of dress including jeans. Outreach workers often have to dress for both the weather and possible grimy environments. On the other end of the scale, some settings require that interns and employees avoid specific clothing. For example, a local youth correctional facility does not allow jeans, or certain articles of clothing in gang-related colors.

In the past, dress codes have been used to discriminate against interns or employees as “not a good fit”—often a phrase that meant “doesn’t look like us.” Recently workplaces have been paying much more attention to how their dress code impacts their workers and their appearance in the community. The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) has set laws around what type of business practices are allowed when it comes to employees’ attire. In general, employers must use a standard that applies equally to all workers within certain job categories. For example, if an employer allows casual clothing, it would be illegal to then not allow clothing representing a specific ethnic region. Employees can also ask for accommodations for religious reasons as well as disability. Unless accommodating this request poses a hardship (which can be defined differently), the employer must comply. For example, if the working conditions require respirators, a religious exemption for facial hair may cause safety issues. Unless a safe alternative exists to allow for the employee’s facial hair can be found, it may be disallowed.

Figure 2.1 What is considered “work appropriate” depends on a lot of factors, but there are some limits to what agencies can require.

Another example of the changing world of business attire is body art. Many employers previously had strict policies about piercings and tattoos. However, as these expressions have become more commonplace, many workplaces have loosened these restrictions if not eliminated them altogether.

Your best resource on questions regarding dress code would be speaking to your supervisor and/or a representative of human resources if you have concerns. The sooner you can get your questions answered, the more comfortable you will feel about your choices. For example, is it okay to wear a “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt? If the agency is very casual, this may be no problem. However, many agencies have policies against shirts with any statements on them. But, if other slogans or statements are allowed, then the content should not be a problem.

One intern was completing their training with a local community corrections agency. Since prisoners in that location were allowed to wear jeans, employees and interns were prohibited from wearing any type of denim clothing. The intern wore black jeans on the last day of training. When questioned, the intern stated that they thought the pants were okay because they were black. The intern was dismissed immediately and let go from the agency. By not taking the guidelines seriously, they lost the opportunity to complete their internship.

Dress codes are subject to certain federal policies and guidelines meant to help agencies develop standard practices, but also to protect employees from prejudice. The EEOC outlines the limits on dress codes as:

In general, an employer may establish a dress code which applies to all employees or employees within certain job categories. However, there are a few possible exceptions.

While an employer may require all workers to follow a uniform dress code even if the dress code conflicts with some workers’ ethnic beliefs or practices, a dress code must not treat some employees less favorably because of their national origin. For example, a dress code that prohibits certain kinds of ethnic dress, such as traditional African or East Indian attire, but otherwise permits casual dress would treat some employees less favorably because of their national origin.

Moreover, if the dress code conflicts with an employee’s religious practices and the employee requests an accommodation, the employer must modify the dress code or permit an exception to the dress code unless doing so would result in undue hardship.

Similarly, if an employee requests an accommodation to the dress code because of his disability, the employer must modify the dress code or permit an exception to the dress code, unless doing so would result in undue hardship. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], n.d.)

There recently has been more attention paid to the unintended consequences of dress codes. Another section of the EEOC website addresses common concerns about religious discrimination in the workplace. Regarding dress codes, the EEOC (n.d.) states, “Absent undue hardship, religious discrimination may be found where an employer fails to accommodate the employee’s religious dress or grooming practices.” There is growing awareness that “traditional business dress” reflects the habits and styles of the majority white culture. It is hard to state that an agency is embracing diversity when the dress code does not acknowledge individual differences. Many agencies are updating their dress codes to reflect a better understanding of this.

2.2.3 Scheduling

One of the worst things you can do at an internship is to be erratic in your attendance or to change schedules frequently since doing so can disrupt the lives of clients, the duties of the person supervising you, and the function of an agency. The primary editor of this book has found that scheduling difficulties is the single most frequently reported problem that agencies have with interns, so it is to be avoided.

It is important to figure out a schedule that works for you and for the site. To that end, you should work with the site’s supervisor or director to arrange the hours that are best for all parties. Some sites will be very accommodating with your scheduling needs. Others may have more rigorous requirements. In all situations, it is important to remember that the agency is being generous enough to give you supervised clinical duties. Sometimes they depend on you being there to help address client needs. So, remember to be open and honest with the person doing the scheduling in order to avoid conflicts. If a schedule conflict does occur, be sure to talk to the supervisor in advance about what is best for the agency and yourself.

Keeping track of hours might present similar issues. On one hand, you are not an employee and can “leave” any time you want. On the other hand, the class and the agency require accountability, especially if there is an hours-worked requirement. Some sites will give you a copy of the schedule but leave it to you to track the hours needed for the internship. Others might require signing in and out.

2.2.5 Confidentiality

Confidentiality involves spoken, written, and behavioral communication practices designed to provide and maintain an individual’s or group’s privacy. Confidentiality is one of the key concepts taught to most human services students because it is a crucial dimension of human services work. The need for confidentiality is also a part of your obligation to the practicum class, as well as the agency and its clients, both during and after the internship.

It is likely that you have heard about the importance of confidentiality in your other courses or maybe even know about it from your experience with the health care system’s HIPPA requirements. Confidentiality is usually a legal obligation, though it may have modified forms, such as in law enforcement, public records, or certain clinical situations involving abuse, homicide, or suicide. When a site indicates that something is confidential, it means just that!

However, sometimes students do not realize that this rule may also apply to their training and even classroom situations, especially when they are talking about their clinical experiences or hear others talk about theirs. Consequently, it is important to remember to “disguise” your training experience when talking about them. Common ways of protecting confidential information include omitting or substantially changing names and identifying information of clients, staff, and agencies—sometimes even your own site!

Example: one intern mentioned in the classroom portion of their practicum that a staff member at the site said that she had just found out she was pregnant at age 43. The intern mentioned the woman’s first name and added that the individual was distressed by the news and did not want to tell her family about it until she figured out what she was going to do. Unknown to the intern, the woman was the mother of one of the other students in the class, so that student had just found out—along with everyone else in the class—that the student’s middle-aged mother was pregnant.

Confidential guidelines may apply to agency material, such as handbooks and policies. Caution is especially important when it comes to using social media because once something is online, it is impossible to fully erase it. If you must make a reference, say something such as, “at work.” It is also important to make sure not to gossip in the classroom about happenings at the site if they are not relevant to the course. After all, there is a difference between professional dialog and just spreading gossip. Confidentiality is so important that colleges may even dismiss students from an internship or even the program for sharing confidential information. Be sure to understand expectations concerning confidentiality with your instructor as well as your supervisor. Finding out what the rules are and adhering to them are part of what it means to be a professional.