Mening i det sociale arbejde: - En undersøgelse af, hvad socialrådgiverne i de kommunale familieafdelinger oplever som meningsfuldt eller meningsløst i arbejdet
Oversat titel
Making sense of social work: - An examination of what social workers in the municipal family departments perceive as meaningful or meaningless in their work life
Forfatter
Schønemann, Pi Hornbech
Semester
4. semester
Uddannelse
Udgivelsesår
2016
Afleveret
2016-03-15
Antal sider
116
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger socialrådgivere i kommunernes familieafdelinger i Danmark, et arbejdsfelt præget af flere samtidige pres: stramme budgetter, krav om at overholde lovgivningen og en bekymring for, at udsatte børn og unge kan blive nedprioriteret. Disse vilkår er forbundet med et psykisk arbejdsmiljø, der ofte vurderes som dårligere end i mange andre professioner, og det gør det vigtigt at forstå, hvordan socialrådgivere oplever deres arbejde. Formålet er at belyse meningsskabelse – altså hvordan socialrådgivere skaber mening i deres arbejde – og at identificere situationer, der føles meningsfulde eller meningsløse. Undersøgelsen bygger på kvalitative, semistrukturerede interviews med seks socialrådgivere fra familieafdelinger i forskellige kommuner. Interviewene er transskriberet, tema-kodet og tolket ud fra en hermeneutisk tilgang, og analysen trækker på Ib Ravns forståelse af del-faktorer, der bidrager til mening, samt Karl Weicks teori om meningsskabelsesprocesser. Resultaterne udfordrer min forforståelse om, at arbejdet overvejende ville blive opfattet som meningsløst. Deltagerne beskrev, at nogle situationer opleves som meningsfulde, andre som meningsløse. Nær og direkte kontakt med borgere blev ofte beskrevet som mest meningsfuld og knyttet til deres faglige identitet. Samtidig spiller lovrammer, kontrol og standardiserede procedurer en central rolle for, hvordan de forstår deres opgaver. De fleste fandt deres arbejde meningsfuldt, selv om det er præget af kontrol og ensartede arbejdsgange. Arbejdet føltes især meningsløst, når opgaverne ikke oplevedes som gavnlige for borgerne; i sådanne situationer forsøgte socialrådgiverne at håndtere det ved at omfortolke opgaverne mere positivt. I diskussionen fremhæves et spændingsfelt mellem at se socialt arbejde som praksis i hverdagen og som en reguleret profession, og der stilles spørgsmål ved, om disse perspektiver kan forenes eller skaber udfordringer. Det er bemærkelsesværdigt, at mange deltagere skaber mening på måder, der understøtter kontrol og standardisering, og at skepsis over for disse systemer ikke er mere udbredt.
This thesis examines social workers in municipal family departments in Denmark, a field marked by multiple pressures: tight budgets, strict legal obligations, and concern that vulnerable children and adolescents may be deprioritized. These conditions are associated with a poorer psychosocial work environment than in many other professions, making it important to understand how social workers experience their work. The aim is to explore sensemaking—how social workers create meaning in their work—and to identify situations that feel meaningful or meaningless. The study is based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with six social workers from family departments in different municipalities. Interviews were transcribed, thematically coded, and interpreted using a hermeneutic approach. The analysis draws on Ib Ravn’s idea of partial factors that contribute to meaning and on Karl Weick’s theory of sensemaking processes. The findings challenge my initial expectation that the work would largely be seen as meaningless. Participants described some situations as meaningful and others as not. Close, direct contact with citizens was often experienced as most meaningful and linked to their professional identity. At the same time, the legal framework, control, and standardized procedures played a central role in how they understood their tasks. Most still found their work meaningful despite these controls. Work felt meaningless especially when tasks were seen as offering little value to citizens; in such cases, social workers tried to cope by reframing tasks more positively. The discussion highlights a tension between viewing social work as everyday practice and as a regulated profession, and asks whether these perspectives can be reconciled or create challenges for practice. Notably, many participants made sense of their work in ways that support control and standardization, and skepticism toward these systems was less widespread than might be expected.
[Dette resumé er genereret ved hjælp af AI]
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