The purpose of this thesis is to clarify how the emotional work is experienced by the social workers, who work every day with a vulnerable marginalized target group. The thesis is based on a study of two day centers at the Non-Government Organization Dan Church Social, which contains a target group, where users have different problems such as substance abuse problems, mental health problems or homelessness problems. Qualitative interviews have been conducted with six social workers, who meet the users of the day centers every day. Furthermore, two interviews have been conducted with the leaders from the respective day centers. The thesis intends to show how working with a vulnerable marginalized group affects both the working life of social workers and their private lives. Finally, the thesis will focus on how the workplace can prevent negative consequences of the emotional work that social workers provide.

The result of the study shows that social workers to a large extent experience their work as meaningful, as they feel that they are making a difference for vulnerable people. However, the emotional work still has a negative impact on the well-being of the social workers, as they have a hard time letting go of the work, when they get home. This means that social workers often cancel appointments with friends or family, as they do not have the mental resources to be social, when they have time off after doing emotional work all day. In addition, social workers experience that the transition between work and home is problematic, as they find it difficult to not think about the users and the daily events when they return home, which affects their sleep and mental well-being, as they experience burnout, stress and compassion fatigue.

Furthermore, the study shows that social workers find the collegial fellowship essential. This has a positive impact on their well-being, as they can have time to talk together about the things that affect them. In addition, the study shows that social workers want more health-promoting measures in the form of supervision and a psychologist scheme, to ensure the social well-being of the social workers, which in the long run benefits the individual social worker, the workplace and the users who come to the day center.