”EN MER UPPMÄRKSAM ARBETSGIVARE HADE KUNNAT KNACKA HÅL PÅ DET DÄR SKALET GANSKA ENKELT.” : Kvalitativ studie om hur socialsekreterare som arbetar med barn och ungdom upplever arbetsgivarens agerande vid sjukskrivning.

Sammanfattning: Work-related mental health problems can be defined as stressors that affect the well-being of employees and are caused by the work environment. Anxiety, worry, or depression are signs of mental health problems. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how social workers working with children and youth experience their employer's actions during sick leave due to work-related mental health problems. The study included five qualitative interviews with social workers working with children and youth in a medium-sized city in Sweden. The material from the interviews was analyzed using a thematic analysis. The theories applied to further analyze the collected data included previous research, the Job Demand-Resources model, and Role Theory. The main themes identified were factors related to work-related mental health issues, workload and high demands, and the employer's actions towards work-related mental health. Results indicate that social workers experience stress caused mainly by heavy workloads. The conclusion shows that the preventive actions are experienced lacking, as no actions were taken when the social workers raised concerns about their heavy workloads. Measures taken during and after sick leave are however perceived positively, as the social workers experienced support from the employer and their return to work was adapted to their needs.