“Ofta skrattar man typ bort det för att man är van” – En kvalitativ intervjustudie om normalisering av hot och våld hos socialsekreterare på ekonomiskt bistånd

Sammanfattning: Work-related threats and violence is a common problem that many social workers have to handle frequently. The definition of this phenomenon is ambiguous and social secretaries have to learn how to handle these types of situations. This bachelor thesis will focus on how they perceive this and how they cope with it, as well as the consequences of their perceptions and coping strategies. To answer these questions we have conducted a qualitative interview study with seven different social secretaries working in financial social assistance. Our theoretical framework used is Lazarus and Folkman's definition of coping and Lundgren’s normalization process theory. Our results show that social secretaries find threats and violence difficult to define and the definitions vary between different respondents. Some examples of coping strategies that we have identified are different personal strategies, seeking support from colleagues and their manager. Our conclusion also shows that how social secretaries define and how they cope with threats and violence can lead to normalization of the phenomenon.