Syftet med studien var att få en djupare förståelse för hur biståndshandläggare inom äldreomsorgen upplever sitt handlingsutrymme utifrån gräsrotsbyråkratens roll samt att identifiera vilka faktorer påverkar handlingsutrymmet. Fem intervjuer med sju informanter, varav sex kvinnor och en man, har genomförts och studien har en kvalitativ ansats. Analysen av resultatet visade att handlingsutrymmet ökar eller minskar vilket beror på ett antal identifierade faktorer. Dessa faktorer är: bakgrund, stödfunktioner, påtryckningar, reglementen och arbetssätt. I studien beskrivs hur handlingsutrymmet utförs och hur det upplevs av informanterna. En konsekvens av ett litet handlingsutrymme är att biståndshandläggarnas position mellan myndighetens uppdrag och medborgarnas behov kan bidra till stress. / The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how social worker in elderly care experience their discretion based on the street-level bureaucrats role and to identify the factors affecting the discretion. Five interviews with seven informants, six women and one man, have been completed and the study has a qualitative approach. The analysis of the results showed that the discretion increases or decreases due to a number of identified factors. These factors are: the background, support functions, pressure, regulations and practices. The study describes how the discretion is performed and how it is perceived by the informants. A consequence of a small discretion is that the social workers position between the authority´s  mission and the needs of citizens can contribute to stress.

This thesis examines the issue of marriage breakdown in the British Armed Forces in light of claims that rates are double that of the civilian population. The research is situated within the context of existing research on the relationship between the service family and the military organisation. This thesis is distinctive in that it employs Bacchi's (1999) method of critical analysis to problem framing in Governmental policy and existing discourses on service families. The objective is to show how the impact of military demands on marriage and family life are framed by the media, politicians, and academics as a problem for the military, in relation to a tension that exists between retention and divorce. Attention to the effects of service life on families is therefore embedded in policy directives, and framed by concerns over the retention and recruitment of military personnel as implications for operational effectiveness. By re-focusing attention to the implications of marriage breakdown for service families this thesis constructs new problem frames, a key question being: what is problematic about marriage and marital breakdown for military wives? The empirical areas explored through in-depth qualitative interviews with a sample of ex-service wives from across the tri-Services are women s experiences and perceptions of marriage and family life, and of marriage breakdown in the military. This methodological approach is unique in that previous studies of service wives have focused on a single community. The voices and experiences of ex-service wives are noticeably absent in previous research, representing neglected routes to experience and knowledge that are vital to a more holistic understanding of the impact of military demands on the family. This thesis highlights the role of emotion in the socialisation of service families which has not been made in the existing literature to date. It has been acknowledged that the conceptual boundaries between the public and private spheres are practically non-existent where the military and service families are concerned. The interface between work and home can be explained in terms of the invisible emotion work service wives perform in support of husbands careers and the institutional goals of the military. This thesis is also distinctive in that it defines wives work in relation to the military in terms of emotional labour and the two-person career. As wives receive little recompense for this labour, responding to role appropriate emotions can have implications for the well-being of military wives, and illustrates the complex picture that emerges as to the reasons why military marriages might end. Factors linked to issues of marital adversity were: infidelity, domestic violence and emotional and psychological abuse, the effects of a culture of alcohol, and the impact of post-operational stress. In addition, family separation was viewed as creating emotional distance between couples. Many women became very independent and adept at coping with the military lifestyle, which created problems for the reintegration of personnel into family life. Moreover, husbands that were perceived by women to be married to the military, in terms of an institutional and social identity, were less satisfied with their relationships. This thesis concludes that the construct of the service family is embedded in institutional rules and regulations regarding marriage and family life, therefore current problematisations of marriage breakdown fail to reveal the difficulties experienced by families in navigating post-divorce family life. Non-intact families are rendered operationally ineffective, hence there are a number of consequences experienced by service families, and women and children in particular, that represent a far-reaching problem of marriage breakdown in the UK Armed Forces.

In healthcare encounters, patients communicate wide-ranging concerns relating to their health and illness experience, treatment or wider psychosocial world. This research draws upon a normative understanding of patient centred approaches which recognise the clinical and psychotherapeutic value in having the opportunity to talk to someone who will listen empathetically and to have expressed concerns acknowledged and understood. The aim of this research was to understand how GPs, nurse and pharmacist prescribers manage patients’ emotional cues and concerns in healthcare encounters. This research employed a mixed method study underpinned by an interpretative epistemology to understand, in particular, how nurse and pharmacists as ‘new prescribers’ manage emotionality during consultations in primary care. The study also critically reflected on the value and limitations of the study methodology to explore this topic. Phase one employed a coding framework to code 528 consultations with 20 GPs, 19 nurses and 12 pharmacist prescribers. The nature and content of patients’ cues and concerns and healthcare professionals’ responses were coded and analysed quantitatively. Phase two undertook qualitative analysis on a sub-sample of 30 transcribed recordings to understand barriers and facilitators to offering emotional labour during the consultation process. Phase one found that patients communicate on average 3.4 cues and concerns per consultation and of those concerns expressed, half related to biomedical concerns. Other cue and concern types related to medication, the impact of a patient’s condition/symptoms on their day-to-day life and cues and concerns related to psychosocial issues, including job stress, family problems, or bereavement. Phase one found that there were significant differences between the type of positive/missed responses to patients’ cues and concerns across the groups. 81% of pharmacists’ responses were coded as positive compared with 72% of nurse prescriber responses and 52% of GP responses. Male GPs were significantly more likely to miss patients’ cues and concerns compared to female GPs. Phase two drew upon emotion work theory and models of patient centred care to identify the ways in which emotions are communicated and managed within healthcare encounters recorded for this study. Phase two identified facilitators (such as attuning to the patient’s world, evidence of listening, providing space, validating and legitimising patients’ concerns) and barriers (emotional disengagement, task focused and structured/agenda driven consultations) to the employment of emotional labour. These findings identify that a complex inter-play of individual, socio-cultural and political factors have potential to influence the way in which emotionality is managed during the consultation process. The findings reinforce the importance of patient centred approaches and communication skills training and the need for support, supervision and training to enable healthcare professionals to manage their emotionality and that of their patients.

Uppsatsen belyser den aktuella emotionella arbetssituationen avseende yrkesverksamma socialsekreterare. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur det emotionella arbetet påverkar socialsekreterare som arbetar i Umeå Kommun. Vidare är syftet att undersöka om detta påverkar dem utanför arbetslivet. För att besvara syftet har studien utgått från följande forskningsfrågeställningarna:  Hur påverkas socialsekreterare emotionellt av sitt yrke, hur hanterar socialsekreterare emotionell börda på jobbet samt hur märker socialsekreteraren av sin yrkesroll utanför arbetslivet? Studien baseras på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod där det empiriska materialet inhämtats med hjälp av en semistrukturerad intervjumetod. Urvalet består av yrkesverksamma socialsekreterare från Vuxenenheten samt Barn - och Ungdomsenheten, ett målinriktat urval som resulterade i snöbollsurval. Avgränsningen i urvalet avser socialsekreterare i Umeå Kommun. En konventionell innehållsanalys användes för att analysera det empiriska materialet. Vidare för analys användes teori bestående av Affektteori och Emotionellt Arbete som teoretiska begrepp. Studiens resultat visar på olika faktorer som påverkar socialsekreteraren emotionellt. Resultatet visar att det emotionella arbetet synliggörs i klientrelationer, arbetsmiljön, individuella och kollektiva strategier samt effekter på socialsekreterarens privatliv. Betydelsen av professionalitet och gränssättning var väsentlig för hantering av det emotionella arbetet. Således påverkar det emotionella arbetet socialsekreteraren både psykiskt och fysiskt på arbetstid som utanför arbetstid. Resultatet visar således på att de är individuellt hur mottaglig man är för emotionell påverkan. Vidare framkom att det är oundvikligt att vara i kontakt med det emotionella inom verksamhetsfältet.  Den emotionella påverkan upplevdes som negativ men resultatet visar även på att det emotionella arbetet kan ha en positiv inverkan på arbetsuppgifter. Detta som ett redskap för socialsekreteraren att använda sig utav. Studiens slutsats visar på en tydlig parallell mellan emotionell påverkan och socialsekreterarens arbete som likväl styrks av presenterad forskning.

Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Performing emotional labour in health care has been widely studied. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding mental health care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify (1) the method of emotional labour (i.e. hiding, faking, deep acting) adopted by mental health workers when interacting with patients; (2) the consequences associated with performing emotional labour- burnout, job satisfaction, and stress; and (3) which of these variables mentioned above predict the health and well-being of mental health workers. Findings revealed greater use of hiding emotions, than deep acting or faking emotions with patients. Several consequences, both positive and negative were identified. Among the negative consequences found, performing emotional labour through hiding and faking emotions was associated with burnout, job dissatisfaction, and stress. Conversely, through deep acting, increased personal accomplishment and job satisfaction was confirmed. No association between emotional labour and psychological distress, and physical symptoms were found.

I denna studie har jag beskrivit delar av socialarbetares emotionella arbete i mötet föräldrar och/eller barn. Jag undersöker på vilket sätt personer som jobbar i eller i anslutning till socialtjänsten arbetar emotionellt i mötet med sina klienter, samt hur detta påverkar dem. Jag har även undersökt huruvida stöd från kolleger och ledning underlättar det emotionella arbetet. Studien har genomförts med utgångspunkt i emotionssociologisk forskning. De teoretiska begrepp som studien utgår från är framförallt emotioner, emotionellt arbete, tillit samt emotionshantering. Detta för att skapa förståelse för intervjupersonernas emotionella situation på arbetsplatsen. Arbetet har genomförts med hjälp av sex stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjupersonerna är personer som jobbar inom eller i anslutning till socialtjänsten, direkt eller indirekt med barn och familjer. De huvudsakliga resultaten visar att socialarbetarna väljer de att försöka trycka bort sina egna emotioner i mötet med klienter. Detta kan de ta igen i efterhand exempelvis genom att diskutera med sina kolleger, och att släppa fram känslor exempelvis genom att gråta. En svårighet de upplever är att inte bara behöver hantera sina egna emotioner, utan även klienternas.Socialarbetarna påverkas av arbetet genom att de har svårt att släppa arbetet på fritiden och har ibland sömnsvårigheter. De upplever ett stort ansvar som kan vara svårt att släppa. De menar trots allt att det egna livet ändå rullar på, vilket gör att de lär sig hantera tankar på jobbet med tiden och mer erfarenhet.Nära relationer till kolleger är viktiga för välmåendet, medan relationer till chefer tycks vara sekundärt i den aktuella studien. Goda relationer på arbetsplatsen tycks underlätta de svårigheter som kan uppstå. De hanterar sina känslor på olika sätt, men att ha avlastning av kolleger och i form av handledning tycks vara två av de viktigaste delarna. / In this study I have described parts of social workers emotional labout i the meeting with parents and/or children. I have studied the way people who work with social services work with their emotions in relations with the clients, and how this effects the social workers. I also studied in what way support from colleagues and manegement can help with the emotion labour. The study has been implemented with the base in sociologic research with emotions in centre. The theoretic concepts that has been used is first and foremost emotions, emotional labour, trust and handling emotions. I have used these concepts to try and create understanding for the inteviewees emotional situation in the workplace. In this study I have done six semi-structured interviews. The interviewees is people who work with or in close contact to the social services, direct or indirect with children and families. The primary results shows that social workers chose to try and hide their own emotions in the meeting with clients. They can compensate this afterward, for example by talking with colleagues, and let their emotions some forward for example by crying. One thing they say is hard is dealing with not only their own emotions, but also the clients.The social workers are affected by their work in the way that they have a hard time to let the work go when they go home for the day, and sometimes they have trouble sleeping. They experience a big responsability that can be hard to let go. Although, they say their own life runs it course, which makes it easier to learn to handle thoughts about work. Time and experience also helps. Close relationships to colleagues are important for their wellbeing, but the relation to manegers seems to be less important in this study. Good relations on the workplace seems to make hardships easier. They handle their emotions in different ways, but support by colleagues and by guidance appears to be two of the most important parts.

This thesis focuses on personal tutoring and pastoral support and guidance in a Further Education College. In this study, I explore the relational dynamics and social construction of the role of the personal tutor and reveal alternative discourses concerned with the emergence of the ‘therapeutic’ in the sector. Within the current audit culture of Further Education, new pedagogies of practice are emerging in response to Government policy, regulation and control and I illuminate their impact upon the sector, noting the sites of conflicts for personal tutors engaged in the labour process as they mediate the ‘emotional learning agenda’. The research includes interview data from twenty personal tutors and nine senior managers (senior tutors), and also includes data from two focus groups. The twenty personal tutors are representative of a breadth of courses across the institution from Foundation Degree to Special Needs, teaching a range of subjects from Marine Science to Performing Arts. The focus groups represent new full-time and part–time trainees to the profession attending the Initial Teacher Training Course. The data was collected over two years from 2006, in a Further Education College in the South West of England called ‘Pendene’. Policy documents including Ofsted reports were also incorporated into the study as secondary data sources. In this research, I reveal that personal tutors at Pendene College were investing time and energy in the emotional lives of their students, in response to policy and practices related to retention and achievement which challenges the arguments from Ecclestone (2004), Furedi (2003) and Ecclestone and Hayes (2009) concerned with the expansion of therapy culture in Further Education. This significantly suggests a paradigmatic shift in the culture of pastoral care within the post-compulsory sector, one driven by the economics of retention. However, not all students were engaged in pastoral support and guidance and this study reveals a group labelled the ‘untutored’ who emerge as separate from those ‘needy’ students whom personal tutors support. Personal tutors were also ‘actors’ taking on different roles and analysing this process illuminated their propensity for engagement in emotional labour and labour processes within the hegemonic culture of Further Education.

As contemporary health care organizations struggle to control costs, yet deliver quality patient-centred care, the concept of care becomes socially transformed through the use of quality improvement models (i.e., Lean methodology) and quality assurance documentation. This research investigates how nurses’ care work is socially organized in a system that defines care through quality management practices. I use Dorothy E. Smith’s Institutional Ethnography as a feminist mode of inquiry and as a guiding framework for my interviews with nurse participants as I explore the complex social relations within the health care system from the vantage point of nurses undertaking care work. I argue that the social reorganization of care work has affected the emotional lives of nurses as they try to balance actual patient-centred care with their reporting obligations under quality management.

The focus of this study was on the regulation and management of emotions among professional nurses in a critical care unit in a private hospital in Gauteng. The aim of this project is to explore and describe the level of resilience of professional nurses, in this case specifically, critical care nurses. The background portrays a journey from emotions and emotional experiences as main focus. The main focus was transformed into sequential emotion regulation and management as precursors to emotional intelligence. An initial literature investigation into emotional intelligence among professional nurses in general indicated that: Much international and national research has been conducted on emotional intelligence among nurses; emotional intelligence is an essential aspect of nursing, as an emotion-laden profession; and emotional intelligence implies positive benefits for nurses. The purpose of this study was to enhance professional nurses‟ regulation and management of their emotions in a critical care unit in a private hospital in Gauteng in order to enhance the level of emotional intelligence. Methodology: A qualitative, phenomenological research design was most suitable for this research that was also explorative, descriptive and contextual and within a case study strategy, combined with the use of interviews. C purposive sampling (Botma, et al., 2010:126) was used to select participants. ASE records included incident reports; organisational records of employee satisfaction, as well as documents that portrayed the care rendered in the unit. Participants were informed about the research by means of a PowerPoint presentation. The sample size was established once the research by saturation of data (Botma et al., 2010:200). Participants were informed about the research by means of a slideshow. Conclusion The results re-confirmed the existence of emotional labour in the critical care unit, as well as the different emotions experienced in the critical care unit. Results reflect the strain critical care nurses need to cope with, and the different ways they use to regulate these emotions and emotional experiences. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013