Att vara kvar när alla andra flyr : En intervjustudie med erfarna socialsekreterare om copingstrategier och organisatoriska villkor

Staying when everyone else flees – an interview study with experienced social workers on coping strategies and organizational conditions Earlier studies in the field have described a complicated situation with high turnover and recruitment problems within the Swedish social services. The aim of this study was to investigate and get an understanding of how social workers within child protective services cope with challenges in their work and what organizational factors at their place of work that affects their intention to stay. Six social workers with a minimum of three years of experience were interviewed. The empirical material was analysed using a hermeneutic approach with coping and sense of coherence as a theoretical ground. The most important factors for the social workers’ intention to stay were their own experience as a way to cope with the workload, support from their colleagues and from their superiors. The discussion highlights the importance of experience in coping with workload as well as for supporting newly educated social workers