Socialarbetarens livspussel - En kvantitativ och kvalitativ studie

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to shed light on the various factors that influence the balance between the working lives and family lives of social workers. The research questions posed were: Do social workers consider there is a conflict between their working lives and family lives? Which factors make maintaining a balance between working life and family life more difficult and which make it easier to do so? How do social workers describe equality between the sexes in their own family? Regarding methodology, the selection method is strategic and combines data sources with quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The material collected and via online survey, targeted to 120 municipal employees social workers in a district council in a big city, and through interviews with four social workers in a rural community. The study was performed using gender theory and the demand-support-control model. The conflict from work to family life was described to be significantly higher than the opposite, which is supported in previous research. Social workers experienced that their tasks are constantly increasing and they could not stop thinking about work during their leisure, but autonomy in their work was relatively good. Support from supervisors, colleagues or life partner and an egalitarian gender contract were major factors in establishing a better balance between working life and family life.