Teknik, stress eller frihet? : En kvalitativ studie om teknikstress och digitalisering inom socialt arbete

Sammanfattning: This study examines the phenomenon of technostress and digitization in the profession of social work, which is about the stress and frustration that can occur when using digital tools at work. The study is based on six semi-structured interviews with social workers from different parts of the country of Sweden. Inspired by grounded theory, the results show that technological stress is frequent for social workers and does not seem to be limited to specific areas within the field but seems to affect all professional groups within social work. Most common is an overall frustration with systems and programs that are not adapted to specific areas within the profession. This frustration is based on duplication of work when systems do not function as intended and when the same documentation needs to be introduced identically in similar systems. The study also examines technological stress and digital solutions in relation to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, where restrictions in society have meant more work from home at a distance for the social workers, which led to blurred boundaries between private and working life, especially at times when work is done from home. At the same time, results also demonstrate that the flexibility and freedom that comes with the possibility of working remotely is something that is sought after, regardless of whether one prefers to work in an office, from home, or both.