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- Andersson, Peter, 1980-
(författare)
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Hot, våld och emotionellt arbete på de särskilda ungdomshemmen : Personalens berättelser
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this dissertation is to describe how staff working at secure units define violence, the ways in which they say violence affects them emotionally, and the ways they emotionally handle violence. The secure units (särskilda ungdomshem) are managed by the Swedish National Board of Institutional care (Statens Institutionsstyrlese, SiS). The daily work of staff members is often described in terms of various dilemmas, challenges and tensions. Staff work in a context where they are at the intersection between care and punishment. How they respond to these dilemmas, challenges and tensions can affect how they handle violence. The organization (i.e. the institution) requires staff to induce or suppress emotions in order to sustain outward attitudes that produce a proper state of mind. Therefore, secure units are defined as an emotional place for both youth and staff.The dissertation consists of four articles that explore different forms and directions of violence in the daily work of staff, and the ways that staff describe the impact of violence on their professional and private lives. The empirical data consist of 53 individual staff interviews (articles 1–3) and five focus groups with 27 staff members (article 4). Three overarching theoretical concepts are deployed: emotional work, narrative and violence.The main findings from these papers can be summarized as follows: Staff talked about the extent and forms of violence that characterize their everyday work (articles 1 and 4), mostly in the form of stories where they described being exposed to both psychological and material violence. The frequency of this violence ranged from occasional to daily. Staff also talked about how they emotionally handled both perceived and acted-out violence, and how such violence can affect their professional role (articles 2 and 3). A common strategy seems to be role-taking. That is, staff members think they are exposed to violence in their role as “staff”, not as private individuals. This paves the way for the normalization of violence as a strategy for dealing with everyday professional life. Furthermore, staff attribute violence to youth in an explicit way. This means that staff members find it difficult to reflect on their own responsibility and the fact that they are, in fact, co-creators of most incidents of violence.The overall results of the four papers are additionally organized around three themes: (1) the position of the young person: perpetrator, (2) working with violence in a caring context and (3) prohibited workplace emotions. Traces of these themes can be found in all four articles and they are clearly linked to the dissertation’s theoretical concepts. In conclusion, it is possible to describe these three themes as an expression of organizational shortcomings in which the staff are trapped.
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| 2. |
- Brunnström, Fredrik, 1976-
(författare)
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Flernivåstyrning med olika medel : En studie om SKR och socialtjänsten
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis focuses on the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) and the governance of Swedish social services. SALAR is an interest- and employer-organization for the Swedish regions and municipalities and it is an important actor in the Swedish multi-level system. Previous research on the governance of Swedish social services has focused on SALAR’s involvement in the policy process aimed at implementing Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). There are few studies in social policy with SALAR as the main object of inquiry, so little is known about its actions in social policy and its role in the governance of social services. The thesis aims to describe and analyze the roles SALAR plays in the Swedish multi-level system, focusing on social services. Drawing on insights from political science, public administration and social work, the theoretical chapter presents concepts such as multi-level governance, post-politics and human service organizations. A political sociological perspective on public policy instruments highlights the need to focus on the instruments used in policy processes. Texts from the websites of SALAR and governmental documents were analyzed. By describing how various tools were used by SALAR’s management, three multi-level roles the organization plays in the social services domain were distinguished: guardian, rule maker and policy instrument of the state. Whilst guarding its members’ (i.e. regions and municipalities) right to self-government is in line with SALAR’s statutes, the roles of rule maker and policy instrument vis-à-vis its members turns SALAR into a quasi-authority. One tool is agreements between SALAR and the state (Ministry of Health and Social Affairs). It is shown that this kind of agreement has become institutionalized as an instrument in governing the sub-national level. Agreements were initially used to govern health care and were later turned towards social services in the “governing through knowledge” of this domain. In an analysis of the “EBP-agreements” it is argued that they are to be understood primarily as instruments to manage the local dimension of social services. The frequent use of words such as “dialogue” and “collaboration” in the texts, together with the fact that “agreements” were the instruments used, underscores the post-political character of this governance process. Organizations at the regional (inter-municipal) level served as recipients of resources and discourses coming down from SALAR and the state. Interviews with staff of one of these regional organizations and with social service managers connected to that same organization revealed that SALAR was seen as an important actor bridging the national and regional level and supporting the regional organization. The thesis argues that the “agreement-institution” is important for explaining why SALAR functions as a quasi-authority in the social services domain. From a governance perspective, this institutionalized mode of cooperation is especially suitable for steering social services, considering both the local dimension of the social services and their human service character.
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| 3. |
- Michelson, Stina, 1979-
(författare)
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Att navigera svåra barndomar : Barns perspektiv och narrativa praktiker när vardagen påverkas av vuxnas psykosociala problem
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Children experiencing family-related adversity have their own stories to tell about themselves and the challenges they face. Qualitative inquiry into children’s personal narratives is important for social work practice and for the pursuit of matching support to children’s needs. While previous research has contributed important knowledge on what children say about experiencing family-related adversity, less attention has been paid to how children handle and make sense of their situation through their telling. The purpose of this thesis is to explore children’s perspectives on how their childhood is affected by adult family members’ psychosocial problems. The primary focus is directed towards children’s narrative project of handling suffering and orienting towards enhanced well-being – albeit in difficult life situations. In connection to this, intergenerational support is studied, with a specific focus on whether the supportive context may have significance for children’s self-narration. Theoretically, the thesis draws upon a childhood sociological perspective on children as social actors within social structures that can either promote or constrain their agency. The thesis also draws upon narrative theory and its focus on the significance of personal and cultural narratives for children’s project of handling and making sense of their situation. The empirical material comprises 42 interviews with 22 children, aged 6–17 years, and 10 interviews with 10 professionals who have personal experiences of difficult childhoods. Both the children and the professionals were recruited from two Swedish non-governmental organizations offering support to children experiencing family-related adversity, such as a parent’s/other adult family member’s alcohol or drug abuse, mental ill health and/or incarceration. The findings show that children navigate difficult childhoods through their telling. They need to navigate both relational challenges and problematic cultural narratives about norm and deviance. In the children’s telling, a number of narrative practices become visible. These practices illustrate various ways in which children negotiate relationships, positions and understandings. Children’s narrative practices can be understood as internal resources that can develop over time, if those children receive adequate support and knowledge. There are also external resources that may help children navigate their childhoods. Here, adults who recognize children as unique individuals and child-centered supportive contexts stand out as central. Alternative cultural narratives can offer children an expanded repertoire of positions. If these narratives are centered around children’s needs, they may contribute to the children’s project of handling suffering and navigating towards well-being – albeit in difficult life situations.The core contribution of the thesis is an in-depth insight into children’s perspectives and narrative practices when everyday life is affected by adults’ psychosocial problems. It adds to previous research on what children tell by focusing on how children may handle and make sense of the situation through their telling. The thesis shows that children relate to cultural narratives about children and childhood in their telling. This has implications for social work practice because it highlights that organizational perspectives on children may influence how children narrate, and make sense of, themselves and their opportunities.
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| 4. |
- Strandell, Rebecka, 1987-
(författare)
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Omsorgsarbete i hemtjänsten : – förändringar, utmaningar och möjligheter
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the work situation in Swedish homecare from the perspective of care workers. In recent decades, the eldercare sector has faced challenges related to organisational changes and difficulties with retaining and recruiting staff. Due to an ageing population, increasing needs for care and a decline in residential care there has been an increased focus on ageing-in-place policies. Homecare is thus an increasingly important part of eldercare, both in Sweden and in other Western countries.The thesis consists of four studies that explore and analyse different aspects of the work situation in Swedish homecare. The empirical material consists of both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative part of the thesis derives from survey-data (Nordcare) from 2005 and 2015, whilst the qualitative material consists of 11 group interviews with 64 homecare workers. Theoretically, the thesis draws upon feminist perspectives on care work. In order to deepen the analysis of the work situation in homecare, the thesis joins work-life oriented research with feminist care research. The results are related to and analysed against the backdrop of recent structural changes and reorganisations in the eldercare sector.Study I shows that the work situation in Swedish home care has deteriorated between 2005 and 2015, both regarding intensification of work and the occurrence of work-related problems. For example, workers in 2015 reported meeting a larger number of recipients per day, receiving less support from their supervisor and colleagues, and having considerably less autonomy to affect the planning of their daily work. Study II illustrates geographical differences regarding homecare workers experiences of their work situation. Staff in larger cities experience worse working conditions and more mental strain, but better employments conditions, work-time arrangements and work-life balance, compared to those working in rural areas. Study III shows that homecare workers in Sweden experience a high level of multidimensional precariousness, and that several of the problematic working conditions are associated with physical strain, mental strain, poor work-life balance and considerations to quit the job. The main results of study IV are that the workers attribute their experiences of time pressure to the compression of time, the control of time and the unpredictability of time. Strategies adopted by the workers to handle time pressure include working unpaid hours, maximising efficiency, and reallocating time. Thus, the workers mainly adopt individual and short-term strategies to deal with time pressure, with potential negative consequences for both the workers and the care recipients.Overall, this thesis shows that the work situation in Swedish homecare has deteriorated over time and is characterised by several problematic employment- and working conditions, over a range of dimensions, with negative consequences for the workers’ health and wellbeing. The accumulation of work-related problems and multidimensional precariousness experienced by the workers strongly indicate that there is no easy solution to the issues experienced by the homecare workers, calling for wide-ranging political and organisational responses.
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