Workload of Social Service Workes in a Special Programme Regime Home

This diploma thesis deals with workload of social service workers in special regime homes. The aim of this paper is to chart the factors influencing workload of social service workers in special regime homes. The main research question asked is: How do social service workers in special regime homes perceive their workload subjectively? The thesis is divided into a theoretical part and a research part. The theoretical part is divided into five chapters which are based on professional literature. The chapters contain a detailed description of the profession of social service workers including professional qualifications together with the definition of the social service - special regime home. The term strain is defined and divided into workload, mental strain and physical strain in the following chapter together with a mention of the term work-life balance in connection with this topic. The subsequent chapter is dedicated to prevention of inception of strain, more precisely to supervision and mental health hygiene. The last chapter deals in detail with occupational burnout. The research part contains the specifications of the aim of the thesis, of the main research question and of five research sub-questions which have been based on the main one. The data have been collected by means of qualitative research, survey methodology and the semi-structured interview method. A specific special regime home in the Vysočina region has been selected for the purposes of this research. The nine participants in the research are social service workers who have been employed at the facility for a minimum of one year. The research was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, a preliminary research was done to serve as a base for adjusting the research questions. The actual research was realised in the next phase. The acquired data were processed using the clustering method and evaluated subsequently. The evaluated data are ordered in relation to the research questions. The social service workers cope with the workload well. They consider their work to be not only physically but also substantially mentally demanding. Manipulating with bedridden clients is viewed as the most physically challenging operation by the facility workers. The most mentally challenging situations for them are the decease of clients, incessant explaining, dealing with clients, etc. The workers experience stressful situations with clients, however more frequently with clients' families as well. The most common work-related health problems of the workers at the facility are backaches. The results of this diploma thesis can serve the selected special regime home in the Vysočina region or as a study material to the lay and professional public