Everyday realities and visionary ideals among social workers in the Nordic countries: A matter of specialization and work tasks?

Meeuwisse, Anna; Scaramuzzino, Roberto; Swärd, Hans

doi:10.1080/2156857x.2011.562030

Cited by 31 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Under the assumption that social rights are central to the Swedish welfare state, we may in this study expect that the professional social workers' construction of poor visiting EU citizens will point towards dependents (positively constructed as deserving and lacking power). This is also supported by research showing that Nordic social workers are more likely to support structural rather than individual explanations of poverty (Meuwisse, Scaramuzzino, and Swärd 2011). However, we cannot preclude that members of the target group may also be constructed as deviants.…”

Section: The Processes Of Problem Definitionsupporting

confidence: 60%

EU citizens begging and sleeping rough in Swedish Urban Areas: social work perspectives on problems and target groups

Ekendahl

Karlsson

Minas

2018

Nordic Social Work Research

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EU citizens from Central and Eastern Europe travelling to cities in other countries to make a better living have become an issue of major political concern across Europe. This study explores how professionals from Swedish municipal social service organizations in urban areas construct the phenomenon of poor visiting EU citizens. The impact of social constructions on the practice and design of policies makes it important to analyse how target groups, such as poor visiting EU citizens, are characterized and what normative assumptions are made about them. The study is theoretically based on Schneider and Ingram's work on 'Social Constructions of Target Populations'. Interviews with social workers in the three largest cities in Sweden were conducted. The results suggest a clear ambivalence among interviewees regarding how to conceptualize EU citizens. They were careful not to highlight any subgroups, instead defining the group as consisting of different individuals with varying needs. While the interviewees constructed members of the target group in a way similar to what Schneider and Ingram describe as dependents, they also attributed them with some agency. We conclude that this may be a reflection of the political and organizational setting in which social work with poor visiting EU citizens is conducted in Sweden.

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Section: The Processes Of Problem Definitionsupporting

confidence: 60%

EU citizens begging and sleeping rough in Swedish Urban Areas: social work perspectives on problems and target groups

Ekendahl

Karlsson

Minas

2018

Nordic Social Work Research

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“…These factors have emerged in many international and domestic studies on work-related well-being among social workers (e.g. Meeuwisse et al 2011;Blomberg et al 2014;Astvik et al 2014;Karpetis 2014). In Finland, a recent report revealed that nearly 90 per cent of Finnish child welfare workers considered that statuto-39 ry child welfare services had insufficient resources.…”

Section: Work-related Well-being In the Context Of Cost Containmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These demands seem to be applied to the frontline social workers as well, which is likely to affect social work practice and the profession itself. (Julkunen 2006, 98-102;Banks 2011;Eräsaari 2014;Meeuwisse et al 2011. ) My dissertation aims to increase understanding of the possible implications of austerity for the capabilities of social workers to practice their profession and for their wellbeing at work.…”

Section: From the Age Of New Public Management To The Age Of New Publmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral distress among social workers: The role of insufficient resources

Kuip

2015

Int J Soc Welfare

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The present study examined moral distress among Finnish social workers and the role of perceived resource insufficiencies in explaining it. The aim was to shed light on this understudied phenomenon in the field of social welfare. The study focused on work‐related moral distress, defined as impaired wellbeing that is connected to the continual inability to implement actions that one considers morally appropriate. The survey data were collected with an electronic questionnaire between the years 2011 and 2012. The respondents (n = 817) were social workers in the public social welfare services and the overall response rate was 46.5 per cent. Nearly 11 per cent of the respondents reported experiencing moral distress and perceived resource insufficiencies strongly explained this experience. Moreover, social workers with moral distress reported that they were less willing to continue in their post, were more frequently on sick leave and had positive work‐related experiences less often than their colleagues who did not experience moral distress. Key Practitioner Message: ● The concept of moral distress is useful in describing the experiences of social welfare workers when they are unable to practise their profession according to their moral code and the emotional burden related to this inability; ● Perceived resource insufficiencies are strongly associated with experiences of moral distress among frontline social workers; ● Social workers experiencing moral distress are less willing to continue in their work, take sick leave more often and less frequently have positive experiences related to their work.

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“…Several authors have highlighted the value or ethical conflicts experienced by social workers where restrictive practice environments hamper their capacity to provide high standards of care to clients (see Egan & Kadushin, 2004;Meeuwisse, Scaramuzzino, & Swärd, 2011;Postle, 2002). For example, a large survey of social workers in Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) found that the realities of practice in municipal social services differed from the 'ideals' of practitioners (Meeuwisse et al, 2011). Reasons given were 'incompatible' work demands, unacceptable time pressures and restricted roles, which affected their ability to help clients effectively (p.11).…”

Section: Disillusionment Disappointment and Threatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Lost in transition?’ – Newly educated social workers’ reflections on their first months in practice

Tham

Lynch

2017

European Journal of Social Work

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Everyday realities and visionary ideals among social workers in the Nordic countries: A matter of specialization and work tasks?

Cited by 31 publications

References 17 publications

EU citizens begging and sleeping rough in Swedish Urban Areas: social work perspectives on problems and target groups

EU citizens begging and sleeping rough in Swedish Urban Areas: social work perspectives on problems and target groups

Moral distress among social workers: The role of insufficient resources

‘Lost in transition?’ – Newly educated social workers’ reflections on their first months in practice

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