The implications of extensive organizational turnover and the subsequent challenge of retaining child welfare social workers have been highlighted as problematic in Sweden. For that reason, child welfare social workers experiences of organizational turnover in their work life and subsequent intentions to remain in or leave the job are explored. This dissertation comprises of qualitative semi-structured interviews with eight (8) child welfare social workers working in different municipalities across Sweden. Collegial social support, making a difference in children’s lives, regular supervision, salary and several organizational incentives such as flexitime, wellness allowance implemented by the organization appeared as factors for child welfare social workers’intention to stay. Discernment of irregular supervision, not being able to make a difference; as a result of the crisis nature of the job, lack of time caused by high caseload, access to crucial resources and management prioritizing financial gain rather than children’s needs, physical (e.g., high blood pressure) and emotional health (e.g.,emotional exhaustion), and lack of salary proportional to their task are factors for their intention to leave. Negative impacts on novice practitioners (e.g., lack of proper induction), caseload size impacting investigation processing time frame negatively, diminished quality (e.g., mismatched interventions), and being directly or indirectly coerced to take cases were perceived as implications of extensive organizationalturnover.

For those who work with adult patients that are at the end of their life, the best interest of the patient’s child still needs to be taken into consideration. The professional, together with the patient and the healthy parent, all play key roles in the child’s socialization process. Nevertheless professionals, social workers and parents still seem to harbor misconceptions regarding children’s resilience, ability and needs regarding communication about death. Moreover, social work performed in a hospital context can often be seen as ambiguous. The tasks often overlap other medical professionals’ and in addition, the social worker is often left to figure out the child’s emotional needs alone. This study therefore aims to develop an understanding of how social workers, who work with adult patients in a hospital context, can be of emotional support to their patient’s child dependants. The ways in which parents communicate about death to their children is further investigated, along with how this communication influences children’s understanding of death. By conducting a scoping review, previous research regarding the ways in which child dependants are approached and supported by both social workers and other medical professionals is presented and analyzed. Socialization theory and developmental ecology are applied to highlight the negative impact a lack of professional support can have on child dependants and their grief. Our findings show that it’s not uncommon that social workers and other medical staff forget to accommodate the patient’s child dependants, or even actively try to avoid them. There seem to be a common belief among these professionals that they don’t have enough knowledge or experience regarding communicating with children, and that support and guidance for this target group thus is beyond their territory. Because of this, the responsibility for the child is often transferred to other authorities thought to be better suited in supporting them. Ultimately, our results concludes that children aren’t just dependent on their parents for social support in times of crisis, but on the professionals they meet during those times as well.

Syftet med denna studie är att fördjupa förståelsen och få en bild av vad som påverkar nyutexaminerade socialsekreterares dagliga arbete inom området barn och unga. Utifrån syftet har vi sökt svaret genom följande frågeställningar: Vilka organisatoriska faktorer påverkar nyutexaminerade socialsekreterares möjligheter att utföra ett, enligt dem, gott socialt arbete? Vilka handlingsstrategier använder nyutexaminerade socialsekreterare för att möta utmaningar i det dagliga sociala arbetet? Hur ser de organisatoriska och personliga förutsättningarna ut för tillämpning av mod i det praktiska sociala arbetet? Vi har använts oss av semi-strukturerade intervjuer av fem nyutexaminerade socialsekreterare verksamma i olika delar av landet. Materialet har sedan analyserats med hjälp av två copingbaserade teorier, Hirschmans (1970) teori om sorti, protest och lojalitet samt Astviks och Melins (2016) teori om överlevnadsstrategier. Resultatet visade att bristfällig introduktion, hög arbetsbelastning och hög personalomsättning påverkar möjligheterna att utföra ett gott arbete negativt. En hög tillit till ledningen och arbetsgruppen samt goda möjligheter till kollegialt stöd påverkar möjligheterna att utföra ett gott arbete positivt. De handlingsstrategier vi fann att socialsekreterarna använde sig av var att jobba över eller hoppa över raster för att hinna med, stänga av känslomässigt för att orka med arbetsbelastningen, lägga över ansvaret på någon annan och att ta avstånd från kollegor för att orka med den höga personalomsättningen. Möjligheterna att tillämpa mod i det praktiska sociala arbetet påverkas av organisatoriska faktorer som gruppens sammansättning, tillit till ledningen och ledningens bemötande. Personliga förutsättningar som kan påverka användandet av mod är tidigare erfarenheter och vilka personliga egenskaper som socialarbetaren besitter. / The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of and gain insight into what influences the daily work of newly graduated social workers in the field of children and youth. Based on this purpose, we have sought answers through the following research questions: What organizational factors affect the ability of newly graduated social workers to perform what they consider good social work? What strategies do newly graduated social workers use to address challenges in their daily social work? What are the organizational and personal conditions for applying courage in practical social work? We conducted semi-structured interviews with five newly graduated social workers working in different parts of the country. The material was then analyzed using two coping-based theories, Hirschman's (1970) theory of exit, voice and loyalty, as well as Astvik and Melin's (2016) theory of survival strategies. The results showed that inadequate introduction and support, high workload and high staff turnover negatively affect the opportunities to do a good job. A high level of trust in management and the work group, as well as good opportunities for collegial support, positively affects the opportunities to perform good work. The action strategies we found that the social workers used were working overtime or skipping breaks to catch up, shutting down emotionally to cope with the workload, shifting responsibility to someone else and distancing them-selves from colleagues to cope with the high staff turnover. The opportunities to apply courage in practical social work are affected by organizational factors such as the composition of the group, trust in management and patterns in leadership behavior. Personal conditions that can affect the use of courage are previous experiences and what personal qualities the social worker possesses

Arbetsrelaterad stress har nu ökat avsevärt i Sverige efter några års nedgång. Särskilt utsatta är de som arbetar inom barn- och familjeenheter på socialtjänsten. Stressrelaterade hälsoproblem bland socialarbetare inom barnavården har kopplats till stora arbetsbelastningar i flera studier. En rapport från Arbetsmiljöverket noterar att ökade arbetsbelastningar ledde till mindre tid för klienter, ökad stress, mer sjukfrånvaro, personalomsättning och att anställda kände att det var svårare att göra ett bra jobb. Detta resulterade i negativa effekter för både klienter och arbetstagarna själva. Syftet med denna studie var därför att undersöka organisatoriska faktorer relaterade till upplevelser av arbetsrelaterad stress hos socialarbetare inom barn- och familjeenheter i två kommuner i Skåne. För att samla in data genomfördes kvalitativa intervjuer med åtta barnavårdsarbetare. Studien belyser de organisatoriska utmaningarna i att hitta balansen mellan arbetskrav och resurser för att minska hög arbetsbelastning och stress. Detta tvingar socialarbetarna inom barn- och familjeenheterna att hitta strategier för att hantera de organisatoriska utmaningarna genom att antingen riskera sin hälsa eller kvaliteten på sitt arbete. Studiens resultat betonar organisationernas personalorientering för att motverka upplevelsen av stress och hög arbetsbelastning. / Work-related stress has now increased significantly in Sweden after a few years of decline. Particularly vulnerable are those who work in child and family units of social services. Stress-related health issues among social workers in child welfare have been linked to severe workloads in several studies. A report from the Swedish Work Environment Authority notes that increased workloads led to less time for clients, increased stress, more sick leave, employee turnover and employees feeling that there is harder to do a good job. Resulting in negative effects on clients as well as the workers themselves. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate organizational factors related to experiences of work-related stress within social workers in child and family units in two municipalities in Skåne. To collect data qualitative interviews were conducted with eight child welfare workers. The study illustrates the organizational challenges in finding the balance between the work requirements and resources to reduce heavy workload and stress. That forces the social workers within the child and family units to find strategies to handle the organizational challenges by either jeopardizing their health or the quality of their work. The study results emphasis the organizations staff orientation to counteract the experience of stress and heavy workload.

Barn och ungdomars psykiska hälsa gynnas av en meningsfull fritid. Syftet med studien var att undersöka socialarbetares upplevelse av hur en meningsfull fritid påverkar barn och ungdomars psykiska hälsa, samt att belysa socialarbetares integrering av meningsfull fritid i sitt dagliga arbete med barn och ungdomar. Metoden i denna studie var kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex socionomer. Med hjälp av riktad kvalitativ innehållsanalys identifierades teman utifrån teorin salutogenes samt begreppen KASAM och empowerment för att jämföra insamlade data och tidigare forskning. Resultatet visar att en meningsfull fritid är viktigt för barn och ungdomars psykiska hälsa, men vad som är meningsfull fritid är individuellt. Informanterna betonade bland annat socioekonomiska hinder och samhälleliga möjligheter som finns för att barn och ungdomar ska ha en meningsfull fritid. Resultatet visar även att socialarbetare ger barn och ungdomar verktyg att själv hantera sin psykiska hälsa. / Children and adolescents' mental health benefits from meaningful leisure activities. This study aimed to explore social workers' experiences of how meaningful leisure impacts the mental health of children and adolescents, and to highlight how social workers integrate meaningful leisure into their daily work with these groups. The method used in this study was qualitative semi-structured interviews with six social workers. Using directed qualitative content analysis, themes were identified based on the theory of salutogenesis and the concepts of Sense of Coherence and empowerment to compare collected data with previous research. The results indicate that meaningful leisure is crucial for the mental health of children and adolescents, but what constitutes meaningful leisure is individual. The informants emphasized socioeconomic barriers and societal opportunities for children and adolescents to engage in meaningful leisure activities. The findings also show that social workers provide tools for children and adolescents to manage their mental health independently.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka sambandet mellan upplevelsen av hot bland socialsekreterare och självskattad utmattning. Samt påverkan som organisatoriskt stöd och självomsorg har på dessa. Denna studie använde sig av kvantitativ metodologi med deduktiv teoribildning. Genom slumpmässigt urval kontaktades 86 kommuner i Sverige. Urvalet för studien bestod av 294 (N=294) socialsekreterare i Sverige. Det empiriska instrumentet bestod av en elektronisk enkät med likertskalor, uppdelad i: bakgrundsfrågor, upplevelse av hot, organisatoriskt stöd mot hot, självskattning av utmattning, organisatoriskt stöd mot utmattning och självomsorg. Studiens slutsats visade på samband mellan upplevelse av hot på arbetsplatsen och självskattad utmattning. Även visade studiens slutsats på att upplevelsen av starkt organisatoriskt stöd mot utmattning minskar den upplevda utmattningen. Dock visade studien att det inte finns någon betydande påverkan av det organisatoriska stödet mot hot, vid upplevelse av hot. Aktiv självomsorg vid hantering av upplevt hot och utmattning visade sig inte minska den självskattade utmattningen. Studiens slutsats visade även att kön, ålder och yrkeserfarenhet inte hade en större betydelse om en individ upplever sig vara utmattad. / The purpose of the study was to investigate the correlation between the experience of threats among social workers and self-rated burnout. As well as the impact that organizational support and self-care have on these. This study used quantitative methodology with deductive theory building. Through random sampling, 86 municipalities in Sweden were contacted. The sample for the study consisted of 294 (N=294) social workers in Sweden. The empirical instrument consisted of an electronic survey with Likert scales, divided into: background questions, experience of threat, organizational support against threat, self-estimation of burnout, organizational support against burnout and self-care. The study's conclusion showed a correlation between the experience of threats in the workplace and self-rated burnout. Also, the study's conclusion showed that the experience of strong organizational support against burnout reduces the perceived burnout. However, it was shown that there is no significant influence of the organizational support against threats, when experiencing threats. Active self-care in dealing with perceived threat and burnout was not found to reduce self-rated burnout. The study's conclusion also showed that gender, age and professional experience did not have a greater significance for an individual experiencing burnout. / <p>Stavningsvarierad titel på engelska: The correlation between authorithy excercising social workers experiences of threats, self-rated burnout, organizational support and self-care</p>

Text in Afrikaans / Performance management and performance appraisal plays a crucial role in developing human resources. In the social work profession the social work supervisor is the person responsible to appraise the performance of the social worker because of the excellent position to observe the job performance directly and consistently. The purpose of this study is to investigate how social work supervisors perform their supervisory functions and apply performance appraisal. The researcher used qualitative research for an exploratory and descriptive study. In-depth interviews were use as data collection method. The sample group was social work supervisors in the employment of the Western Cape Department of Social Development. Performance appraisal can be use to encourage professional growth and development of social workers. Performance appraisal is a supervisory duty and thus a component of administrative, educational and supportive supervision. It seems however that supervisors experience problems with performing supervision and to apply performance appraisal. / Thesis (M.A. (Maatskaplike Werk))

Text in Afrikaans / Performance management and performance appraisal plays a crucial role in developing human resources. In the social work profession the social work supervisor is the person responsible to appraise the performance of the social worker because of the excellent position to observe the job performance directly and consistently. The purpose of this study is to investigate how social work supervisors perform their supervisory functions and apply performance appraisal. The researcher used qualitative research for an exploratory and descriptive study. In-depth interviews were use as data collection method. The sample group was social work supervisors in the employment of the Western Cape Department of Social Development. Performance appraisal can be use to encourage professional growth and development of social workers. Performance appraisal is a supervisory duty and thus a component of administrative, educational and supportive supervision. It seems however that supervisors experience problems with performing supervision and to apply performance appraisal. / Thesis (M.A. (Maatskaplike Werk))

MPH / Department of Public Health / This study was about work related stress among social workers in the Greater Giyani Municipality, South Africa. Work related stress among social workers globally can be attributed to a number of factors that are either internal or external to the workers. When not addressed, work related stress may have tremendous impact on the workers, their productivity and even health. The aim of this study was to explore the sources of work related stress among social workers in selected offices in Greater Giyani Municipality, South Africa. This study adopted a qualitative research design making use of exploratory approach. The study was conducted at Unigaz social work offices, Greater Giyani Municipality, South Africa. The study sample was chosen from the target population of social workers using non-probability purposive sampling. Data were collected using an interview guide and analyzed using thematic analytical approach. To ensure trustworthiness, credibility and dependability of the study findings, the researcher pre-tested the interview guide to ascertain if it will enable the researcher to get the desired information. The researcher adhered to the following ethical principles: Informed consent, deception of respondents, confidentiality and anonymity, voluntary participation and avoidance of harm to respondents The study revealed that work related stress among social workers results from a variety of factors. These factors are either organisational such as poor remuneration, workload etc. or extra-organisational factors such as lack of support from family members. The study recommends that the Department of Social Development should put in place Employee Wellness Offices in all districts as a measure to curb and deal with work related stress among social workers. / NRF

The purpose of this research study was to assess the control function of social work managers. The basic focus of the study is on how they perceive this management function of control as they exercise it, as well as how it is exercised to them. Out of two research methods that one can choose from, namely quantitative and qualitative, the quantitative was chosen as the relevant one to use because of the specific close-ended questions that were to be answered by respondents regarding the exercise of control as a management function. Out of twenty five (25) questionnaires, an analysis of data was done on twenty (N = 20), because that was the original target and the five were just distributed in case some could not answer for whatever reason. The findings and responses from the respondents were analysed and interpreted to meet the main objectives of the study. / Die doel van hierdie studie was om vas te stel wat die kontrole funksie van ’n maatskaplikewerk-bestuurder is. Hierdie studie is gefokus op hoe die bestuursfunksie beleef word soos dit beoefen word. Van die twee navorsingsmetodes waaruit gekies kan word, naamlik kwalitatief en kwantitatief, is daar besluit dat die kwantitatiewe metode meer relevant sal wees omdat dit spesifieke geslote vrae vra wat ingestel is op die bestuursfunksie van kontrole. Uit die 25 vraelyste is die data van 20 (N = 20) vraelyste ontleed, aangesien dit die aanvanklike teiken was. Daar is 5 ekstra uitgedeel net ingeval daar persone sou wees wat nie die vraelys kon voltooi nie. Die bevindinge en reaksie van die 20 ondervraagdes is ontleed en geïnterpreteer om die basiese doel van die studie te bereik. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Social Work)