Utmaningar och möjligheter i det organisatoriska stödet - En kvalitativ studie om socialsekreterares upplevelser av socialtjänstens stöd kopplat till situationer innehållande hot och/eller våld

Abstract

Threats and violence against social workers in Sweden are currently on the rise and one of the more vulnerable occupational groups are the Child protection workers (CPWs). Threats and violence against CPWs can take different forms, from direct aggressions to more subtle and harder to detect ones. The aim of this study was to explore the support that is available within the social service organisation in light of the ongoing public debate about threats and violence against social workers. The chosen method for this study was qualitative interviews with eight social workers from four different offices spread among three Swedish municipalities. In the thematic analysis of our results we applied two theoretical perspectives from organisational theory, Human relations and Organisational culture. One finding was that the support given to CPWs after an instance of threats and/or violence was overall often seen as adequate by the respondents. However, an exception was noted: respondents felt they lacked training on how to handle situations involving threats and violence. Another finding was that CPWs often conducted their own risk assessments when visiting clients, which was attributed to a lack of understanding regarding organizational safety routines. The study also found that respondents felt like the discussion about threats and violence outside of the workplace was lacking and that the support given when such an incident occurred caused stress and an increased feeling of threat instead of providing relief. The final finding was that a majority of respondents perceived the physical design of the workplace as inadequate, which increased the risk of threats and violence occurring.