Stress eller kontroll? - En kvalitativ studie om socialsekreterarens syn på sin yrkesroll

Authors: Elin Copcutt and Jessica Holst Title: Stress eller kontroll? – En kvalitativ studie om socialsekreterarens syn på sin yrkesroll. Supervisor: Carina Tigervall This paper examines how six social workers from four local authority social services departments in the south of Sweden find their work situation. The idea for the subject matter came from the media where social workers often are made out to be struggling to stay afloat in their day-to-day job due to a heavy workload and stress. According to previous studies there are a high number of social workers that are signed of sick long term due to work related causes. The aim of the study is to get a direct perspective of how social workers in social services departments experience their overall work situation, how they view and deal with various sorts of stress in their work day in relation to the resources available to them, what individual strategies they have in order to cope with stress and what support they get from the organization. The study also explores whether the interviewed social workers found their job role to be of importance, and if they feel they are in control of what is expected of them and how much influence they experienced themselves to have in their professional role. The high turnover of experienced social workers in social services as well as the lack of time and complex cases accumulates to a strained work situation for many of the participants in the study. However, a general feeling of commitment and dedication to their work was voiced