“Det blev ju lite mer… riktigt socialt arbete” : En kvalitativ studie om socialsekreterares upplevelser av sin arbetsinsats under en krissituation

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of social workers working with unaccompanied refugee minors during the autumn of 2015, commonly referred to as the “refugee crisis”. During this period, Sweden received approximately 156 400 refugees, putting Sweden’s social infrastructure under enormous pressure. As a result of the stressful working conditions, a large amount of social workers left the social services. This study however, focuses on the experiences of social workers choosing to stay during and after this period, aiming to identify their working conditions, coping strategies as well as their ability to remain professional. The focus of the study was to examine whether the social workers felt they were able to execute their tasks professionally when forced to operate in a stressful situation, as well as how they perceived the situation affected their ability to remain professional. Empirical data was collected with semi-structured interviews with five social workers, operative in the greater Stockholm area during the autumn of 2015. The empirical data was interpreted and analysed through a theory of coping strategies in social work. The study reached the conclusion that the utilization of different coping strategies enabled a sense of accomplishing ”real social work” where respondents perceived that they reached the “core purpose” of social work. However, the situation also created negative effects, for example in terms of legal security.