The purpose of the study was to create a deeper understanding of social worker’s room of action and the possibilities and limitations that exist in the scope of action. The method of the study is semi-structured qualitative interviews. The participating interwees have all worked in social services with child, teenagers and parents. The theory that has been applied to the analysis is Lipsky’s theory about “Street-level bureaucracy”. The themes that resulted from the thematic analysis are: the conditions for the freedom of action within the framework, experiences of the limited svope for action and the different conditions of the municipalities. The results showed that the perception of the room of action was limited within the rules, guidelines and laws that exist. But within that, the room for action was perceived to be quite large, in that they could plan their meetings themselves through time and place. This was limited by a lack of resources, staff shortages and finances. The results also showed that there are large differences within the social services as an organization within different municipalities in Sweden. / Syftet med studien var att skapa en djupare förståelse för socialsekreterares handlingsutrymme och vilka möjligheter och begränsningar som finns i handlingsutrymmet. Metoden för studien är semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer. De deltagande intervjupersonerna har alla arbetat inom socialtjänsten med inriktning mot barn, ungdomaroch föräldrar. Den teori som har applicerats på analysen är Lipsky’s teori om gräsrotsbyråkrater. De teman som resulterade av den tematiska analysen är: handlingsutrymmets förutsättningar inom ramens lagar, upplevelser av det begränsade handlingsutrymmet och kommunernas olika förutsättningar. Resultaten visade att upplevelsen av handlingsutrymmet var begränsat inom de regler, riktlinjer och lagar som finns. Men inom det så upplevdes handlingsutrymmet rätt stort, genom att de själva kunde planera sina mötengenom tid och plats. Det begränsades genom bristande resurser, personalbrist och ekonomi. Resultatet visade även att det är stora skillnader inom socialtjänsten som organisation inom olika kommuner i Sverige.

Under år 2015 sökte 162 877 personer asyl i Sverige. Större delen av de asylsökande kom från det krigshärjade Syrien, det var 51 338 asylsökande (Migrationsverket, 2016). Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka socialsekreterares upplevelse av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön, samt upplevd kompetens i arbetet, på en kommunal enhet för ensamkommande barn till följd av ökad arbetsbelastning som en konsekvens av flyktingkrisen. Syftet besvarades genom följande frågeställningar: Hur upplever socialsekreterare sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö? Hur upplevs kompetensen i det dagliga arbetet hos berörda socialsekreterare? Metoden för studien var kvalitativ. Fem semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes med socialsekreterare på en kommunal enhet för ensamkommande barn. Resultatet visade att socialsekreterarna upplever att deras psykosociala arbetsmiljö är stressfylld till följd av hög arbetsbelastning som uppkommit till följd av flyktingkrisen. Resultatet visade också att socialsekreterarnas upplevda kompetens i arbete var varierande, det som var gemensamt var att samtliga upplevde att de utökar sin kompetens i arbetet och mötet med de ensamkommande barnen. / In 2015, 162,877 people sought asylum in Sweden. Most of the asylum seekers came from wartorn Syria, there were 51,338 asylum seekers (Immigration Service, 2016). The main purpose of the paper was to examine the social workers experience of the psychosocial work environment, and perceived competence at work, at a municipal unit for unaccompanied minors as a result of the increased workload as a result of the refugee crisis. The purpose was answered by the following questions: How do social workers their psychosocial work? How perceived competence in the daily work of the social workers? The method of the study was qualitative. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers at a municipal unit for unaccompanied minors. The results showed that social workers feel that their psychosocial work is stressful due to the heavy workload arising in consequence of the refugee crisis. The results also showed that social workers perceived competence at work was varied, all experienced that they expand their skills at work through meeting with the unaccompanied minors.

The aim of this study was to understand how a social workers responsible for foster children within the municipal social services, is working with the children’s continuous relationships with family members and other significant related, as well as which knowledge formed the basis for their work practice. The study is based on interviews with eight social workers from three different municipalities. The results showed that the work is based on the law which causing interpretations, in which the individual assessment is in fact to be based on the child's needs- and best, but in practice are decisions made by and involving several parties. The study showed that the guardians and foster cares wills and opinions weigh heavily, often at the expense of the child perspective. As a strategy to assess the child's best, the social workers turn to their own quiet knowledge and colleagues and the organization's traditions to retrieve knowledge that supports the decisions, and to a lesser extent to scientific knowledge and evidence-based practice. The social workers also expressed a wish to work more with scientific underpinnings, but the organization does not work with routine gathering of scientific knowledge.

Title: Who is the expert and on what? A qualitative study of the social workers response of the client. The purpose with this study is to obtain an insight in how the social workers reason around the interaction with the client and how they see the client as an expert on herself. The study is qualitative and is based on semi-structured interviews with nine informants from different parts of the social Service from municipalities. The qualitative study has an inductive and a deductive approach and a perspective that is constructivism.  These interviews were thematized and three themes emerged. The first theme was about the response of the client and how the social workers looks at their role as professional in relation to the clients they encounter. Another key part of the same theme was the meeting with the client. The second theme has the client as the expert as the central part. The key here was the profession's view of the client's own knowledge about themselves and how social workers handle the client's knowledge. The third and last theme was all about how the profession meets and treats the client on the basis of guidelines and manuals. Central to this theme was this how the social worker looks at the use of guidelines and manuals during the meeting with the client, which some see them as a help and some see that sometimes these become a hindrance. These three themes are on social workers perspective on the treatment of the client from different angles. / Titel: Vem är expert och på vad? En kvalitativ studie om socialsekreterarnas bemötande av klienten.   Syftet med denna studie är att få en inblick i hur socialsekreterarna resonerar kring bemötandet av klienten och hur de ser på klienten som expert på sig själv. Studien är kvalitativ och baserades på semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio informanter från olika delar inom socialtjänsten från olika kommuner. Den kvalitativa studien har en induktiv ansats med inslag av deduktiv ansats och utgår från det konstruktivistiska perspektivet. Intervjuerna har tematiserats varvid tre teman kommit fram. Första temat handlar om bemötandet av klienten och hur socialsekreterarna ser på sin roll som professionell i förhållande till de klienter de möter. Ytterligare en central del i samma tema är mötet med klienten. Det andra temat har klienten som expert som central del. Här är det professionens syn på klientens egna kunskaper om sig själva och hur socialsekreterarna hanterar klientens kunskap som är det centrala. Tredje och sista temat handlar om hur professionen möter och bemöter klienten utifrån riktlinjer och manualer. Det centrala i detta tema är här hur socialsekreterare ser på användandet av manualer i mötet med klienten, där en del ser dem som en hjälp och en del ser att emellanåt blir dessa ett hinder. Dessa tre teman handlar om socialsekreterares perspektiv på bemötande av klienten från olika infallsvinklar.

According to statistics, a significant increase in sickness has occurred in the public sector in recent decades in Sweden. Human therapeutic professions is the area where the illness is most prevalent. The purpose of this study was through a qualitative method and hermeneutic approaches explore how conscious six social workers in the social services are on stress and how they cope with it. Further it investigates and analyzes how these results affect their daily work. One important result due to stress is that the social workers ability to treat their clients is impaired and they are less able to be empathetic. Inadequacy in the work environment leads to a sense of insufficiency by social workers, and a reduced quality of life. This despite the fact that they express a variety of coping strategies. The conclusion of the study shows that due to high demands, a lack of control over ones work and lack of support from management, social workers have a sense of inadequacy.

The study aims to describe and analyse the relationship between norm and practice regarding social services casework on honour-related problems. The relationship between norm and practice involves the difference between the way it is intended that social workers shall operate in these cases and how they perceive that this works in practice. We interviewed two focus groups of eight Swedish social workers, four in each group. We also held an individual interview with a social services business developer. Focus group interviews were based on two vignettes; one depicting an honour-related case and the second an "ordinary" case. The purpose of the vignettes was to investigate whether there is a difference in the assessment and handling of ordinary versus honour-related cases. The results of the interviews were analysed using Hasenfeld's theory on Human service organizations. We also used Lipsky's theory on street-level bureaucracy. We displayed similarities to previous research showing that social workers are unsure of how to assess and act on honour-related cases. It was evident that the social workers we interviewed were confident working "ordinary" cases involving child abuse, but felt uncertain dealing with honour-related cases. Because they are less frequent they have developed neither routines nor guidelines for them. The study showed that social workers’ lack of knowledge of honour-related problems and differences in culture limits their effectiveness in these cases. The results suggest that the social workers we interviewed rely on outside expertise when they are insecure, and consequently feel that they have no need for action plans or guidelines in honour-related cases. Lack of guidance and inadequate knowledge presents difficulties for social workers to meet the girls’ needs for help and support.

The purpose of this study is to examine how social workers look at the importance of knowledge of culture in social work. A qualitative interview study was used in which five social workers were interviewed. The results were then analyzed based on previous research and culture as a theoretical framework. The study shows that social workers believe that knowledge of culture is of great importance in their practical social work. Knowledge of culture was seen as a contribute to a further understanding of different circumstances of the clients. Social workers were found to have different views on the extent of their knowledge of culture as some felt that their knowledge is sufficient to be able to perform good social work, while others thought that they are in need of more knowledge. The social workers own culture were seen by some as an important part in meeting with clients, while others were not at all aware of their own culture and its influence on their work. / Syftet med undersökningen är att undersöka hur socialsekreterare ser på betydelsen av kunskap om kulturer i socialt arbete. En kvalitativ intervjuundersökning har genomförts där fem socialsekreterare intervjuats. Resultatet har sedan analyserats utifrån tidigare forskning samt kultur som tolkningsram. Undersökningen visar att socialsekreterarna anser att kunskap om kultur har en stor betydelse i deras praktiska sociala arbete. Kunskapen om kultur sågs som något som kan bidra till en vidare förståelse av olika omständigheter kring klienterna. Socialsekreterarna visade sig ha olika uppfattning om i vilken grad de ansåg sig ha kunskap om kultur då vissa ansåg att deras kunskap är tillräcklig för att kunna genomföra ett bra socialt arbete medan andra menade att de är i behov av mer kunskap. Slutligen visas att vissa av socialsekreterarna såg sin egen kultur som en viktig del i mötet med klienter medan andra inte alls var medvetna om den egna kulturen och dess påverkan på deras arbete.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka föreställningar kring socialsekreterare som svensk dagspress reproducerar. Det empiriska materialet för studien består av 120 artiklar publicerade i morgontidningarna Dagens Nyheter och Svenska Dagbladet mellan år 2015 och 2016. Metoden för studien är kvalitativ idé- och innehållsanalys och det analytiska ramverket som används är format av idéer och dimensioner som framkommit ur tidigare forskning. Analysen utgår i huvudsak från fyra idealtyper av socialsekreterare som media beskriver. I resultatet framgår det att socialsekreterare i huvudsak framställs som offer i sin yrkesroll på grund av problem i system och struktur. Beskrivningar av socialsekreterare som hjälpsamma och inkompetenta är i många fall relaterade till rollen som offer. Föreställningen om socialsekreterare som ovilliga och elaka förekommer i mindre utsträckning än andra roller och är begränsad till specifika områden av den mediala rapporteringen. / The aim of this study was to give understanding to the representations of social workers in the daily press in Sweden. The empirical material of this study consists of 120 articles published in the morning newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet in the years of 2015 and 2016. The method used were qualitative analysis of ideas and content analysis and the analytical framework used is based on ideas about social workers that has been identified in previous research. The analysis is based mainly on four ideas of social workers as the media describes the profession. From the results it appears that socials workers are mainly described as victims due to systematic and structural shortages. The descriptions of social workers as helpers and incompetent are often linked to the description of them as victims. The description of social workers as cruel and malicious are fewer than the other categories and are limited to specific areas presented in the news.

När en socialsekreterare ska handlägga ärenden enligt Lag om Vård av Missbrukare i vissa fall (LVM) behöver denne ta ställning utifrån många olika perspektiv. Syftet med denna studie är att ge kunskap om hur socialsekreterare upplever handläggning av LVM-ärenden samt vilka erfarenheter de har av en sådan process. Undersökningens material grundar sig på kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex socialsekreterare som alla har arbetat med LVM-handläggning. För att kunna tolka och analysera materialet användes gräsrotsbyråkrati, makt, etik i socialt arbete och handlingsutrymme som teoretisk referensram. Resultatet indikerar att socialsekreterarna upplever både för- och nackdelar i arbetet med lagstiftningen. De upplever handläggningen av LVM-ärenden likt ett dilemma. Socialsekreterarna anser att lagen är nödvändig då de i avsaknad av den skulle känna en stor maktlöshet av att inte kunna ingripa i allvarliga situationer där klienten riskerar att avlida eller skada sig själv och andra till följd av sitt missbruk. De anser även att tillämpningen av lagen medför inskränkningar i den enskilda klientens integritet och att klienten i mötet med socialtjänsten riskerar att bli kränkt utan noga eftertanke från socialsekreterarens sida. Resultatet visar även på att socialsekreterarna så långt som det är möjligt respekterar klientens autonomi men att autonomin vid fråga om liv och död måste förbises. / When a social secretary has to investigate a client due to the Law on Care of Addicts in certain cases (LVM) he or she need to do so with consideration to many different perspectives. The purpose of this study is to provide knowledge about how social workers perceive handling LVM cases and also to find out what their experiences are when it comes to managing cases of this kind. The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with six social secretaries who have all worked with LVM management. To interpret and analyze the material a theory about street-level bureaucrats, power, ethics in social work and “handlingsutrymme” were used as theoretical framework. The results seem to indicate that there are, according to the social secretaries, advantages as well as disadvantages to this approach. They experience the process of LVM as a bit of a dilemma. The social secretaries believe that the law is necessary for them so that they can act if needs be, in serious situations when clients are in danger and even risks death because of the addiction. They also believe that the law and the application of the same include quite a large restriction for the integrity of the client and that there is a risk for the client to be violated if the social worker does not show careful consideration on his/hers side. The result also show that the social secretaries wants to, as far as possible, show that they respect their clients’ autonomy. Although, this must be disregarded in a matter of life and death.

Syftet med föreliggande uppsats var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare inom familjeavdelningens utredningsenhet förhåller sig till situationer av hot och våld på arbetsplatsen och även till det förebyggande arbete som bedrivs för att undgå att hotfulla situationer uppstår. För att uppnå studiens syfte används en kvalitativ metod i form av fem intervjuer. I intervjuerna sökte vi svar på frågeställningen: Vilka kunskaper om åtgärder har socialsekreterarna fått, om hur de ska agera utifall hot och våld uppstår i möten med klienter på arbetsplatsen? Vilka strategier använder socialsekreterarna sig av för att inte hotfulla och våldsamma situationer ska uppstå i möten med klienter? Det insamlande materialet har bearbetats genom inspiration utifrån en hermeneutisk ansats och analyserats utifrån KASAMteorin och de teoretiska begreppen mentalisering, organisationskultur samt coping. Studiens resultat visar att det förekommer få hotfulla situationer inom familjeavdelningens utredningsenhet. Det kan istället handla om kränkningar via telefon och mejl. Det framkommer att socialsekreterarna har en medvetenhet genom att de förbereder sig inför möten med klienter för att försöka sätta sig in i hur klienten kommer att uppleva mötet. Samtliga betonar vikten av att bemöta klienten med respekt. Resultatet visar även att intervjupersonerna anser att det finns ett bra stöd hos kollegor och chefer. Dock saknar de en bredare utbildning kring hur de ska agera om hot eller om en våldsam situation uppstår. Majoriteten av intervjupersonerna ansåg att ålder och arbetslivserfarenhet kan vara av betydelse för hur man upplever om man är med om otillåten påverkan. Det framkommer av intervjupersonerna att arbetslivserfarenhet är något som påverkar vilka försiktighetsåtgärder de tar i sitt privatliv, för att privatlivet inte ska påverkas av ens yrkesval. Just erfarenheten kan påverka att de upplever vissa situationer som mindre hotfulla. Även socialsekreterarnas ökade kunskaper påverkar hur de agerar i situationer som präglas av hot och våld. De får en viss acceptans för vilken situation klienten befinner sig i. / The aim of this study was to examine how social work professionals in child protection relate to situations of client related threats and violence, in the workplace, and also how they reason about the preventive work, in order to avoid threatening situations. In order to achieve the purpose, we used a qualitative approach, consisting of five individual interviews. In our semistructured interviews we looked for answers to the following questions: What knowledges about work-related measures did the social work professionals receive, on how to act when threats and violence arise in meetings with clients in the workplace? What strategies do the social work professionals use to avoid threatening or violent situations that can arise in meetings with their clients? We have, throughout our research process, been inspired by the hermeneutic method. The analysis was based upon Antonovskys KASAM (sense of coherence)-theory and theoretical concepts of mentalization, organizational culture and coping. The results show that only a few threatening situations occurred in the physical workplace of the five social work professionals. More common were threats expressed by phone and email. It appears that social workers have an awareness, preparing for meetings with clients to try to understand how the client will experience the meeting. All stresses the importance of responding to client with respect. The results also show that the interviewees believe that they receive good social support from colleagues and managers; they do, however, lack a broader perspective of education on how to act during threatening or violent situations. Majority of the interviewees felt that age and professional experience can be of importance in the interpretation of the situation. It is found by the interviewees that the work experience is something that affects what precautions they take in their private life, to private life should not be affected by one's choice of profession. They meant that these factors can affect the experience of threats and violence and how one interprets situations of violence and threats. The interviewees mentioned that they feel more confident in how to act when they need to diffuse a violent situation. They also meant that, as social work professionals working in child protection, you get a certain acceptance of the different kinds of situations your clients live through, the older you get.