Branding social work in employee assistance

Sammanfattning: At the core of this thesis lies the conception that branding theories might bear insights for individuals who aim to establish their professional existence outside of the area for which their profession grants them credibility. One group of such professionals was found in self-employed social workers who offer employee assistance to private corporations. They operate outside of what is widely acknowledged as the competence area of the social work profession, which would be publicly mandated welfare work. The purpose of this study was to explore how social workers have branded their employee assistance and how companies perceive that service. Based on a case study and fifteen semi-structured interviews with professional social workers, company representatives, and other experts, this study examines which aspects of branding can be seen relevant for the characterised group of professionals. This study focused on brand awareness and brand associations to provide a not yet undertaken application of branding theories to the cases of occupational social workers in Austria. The findings suggest that self-employed professionals manage their service category, their professional affiliation, and information that target groups have. Performing those branding activities, they should aim to be present in a limited reach, know the context for their service provision, and make the service personally relevant to the target group. The findings suggest they create this relevance, among others, by reframing needs which target groups recognised. This thesis’ adds a new framework to the literature. It shows factors that were found relevant to the branding of social-work-based employee assistance in Austria and will support practitioners and scholars when analysing similar cases.