Worksheet: Working with Judgements

Worksheet: Working with judgements

Being able to be non-judgemental is important and it is a skill that needs to be worked on. It is also something that we need to constantly evaluate throughout our working lives in the community services sector by maintaining our awareness, being honest with ourselves and being prepared to change. In this activity, reflect on the 13 questions below. Important: Your ability to be honest with yourself, and to be prepared to acknowledge and accept the areas you need to work on, and to develop strategies to do this is the important part of this exercise.

Make notes on these questions:

1. What happens to you physically when you judge someone, or come into contact with someone you don’t feel comfortable with?

2. What do you feel?

3. Where does this feeling come from?

4. How is this feeling reflected in your communications with people belonging to this group?

5. What about your nonverbal signals?

6. Are you able to recognise the events or situation?

7. Are you stereotyping a group of people on the basis of one or two experiences?

8. What impact do your judgements have on your relationships with members of that group?

9. What impact could your views have on your workplace relationships?

10. Are you basing your judgements on biased or unproven information?

11. Are you prepared to challenge these judgements? If not, why not?

12. What steps could you take to find other information about the client or client group that you are judging? (Eg this may include doing further reading or speaking with organisations that work with the group to gain further understanding of their needs.)

13. What was the outcome of this process?

These are the sorts of questions that you can ask yourself as part of the process of recognising and working with your prejudices. It is important that as community service workers we take these steps. Tip: While you study, it is helpful to keep a journal (or diary) in which you record your learning journey, e.g. identifying times when you make judgements, exploring why this may have happened, what the history of this judgement is and why it happens for you. Also include strategies you use to challenge your behaviour and attitudes, and what the outcomes are. Remember, this is your own

TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute

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: Wo personal journey and no one need ever see it (unless you choose to share it). It is a great tool to use to be able to look back and remember your learning journey and how far you came.

TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute

049ebc346bbc91cb30b442fcb5ad6fdc.docx