Professional Emotions and Emotion Management in the Swedish Social Services

The situation in the Swedish social service has been described as particularly problematic. Overwhelming caseload, staff turnover, stress related illnesses and high sick leave rates have been reported in almost every service district in the country. Somewhere between the ethical principles and core values of the profession and the bureaucratic, time pressured and budgetary constrained reality, tensions seem to rise. The purpose of the PhD project is to contribute to an understanding of social workers’ emotions and emotion management in relation to the situation in the Swedish social services. The thesis is based on a combination of ethnographic methods: interviews, observations and shadowing, combined with text analysis of central documents such as legislation, regulatory documents and ethical guidelines.