Biståndshandläggaren och samvetsstressen : En kvalitativ intervjustudie

Syftet med studien var att utforska socialarbetares upplevelse av arbetsrelaterad samvetsstress. Vi ville identifiera vad samvetsstress kan vara för yrkesgruppen socialarbetare vars arbetsuppgift innefattar myndighetsutövning och vad i arbetet som orsakar samvetsstress. Sex stycken kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med socialarbetare vars yrke innefattar myndighetsutövning. Resultatet visar att samtliga intervjupersoner upplever samvetsstress när de beskriver sig ha svårt att hantera sitt dåliga samvete och att detta leder till negativa psykiska och fysiska stressymptom. Intervjupersonerna beskriver dock upplevelsen av samvetsstress i olika grad vilka kategoriserades: ständig närvaro av samvetsstress, närvaro av samvetsstress i vissa situationer samt medveten bortträngning av samvetsstress. Resultatet visar vidare att samvetsstress kan skapas av de krav och förväntningar som organisationen, brukare och anhöriga samt socialarbetaren själv har om de upplevs som övermäktiga och motstridiga. Vår studie indikerar på ett behov av vidare forskning om samvetsstress hos socialarbetare.

The purpose of our study was to examine the experience of work-related stress of conscience within social workers. We aimed to identify what stress of conscience is for the professional group social workers, whose work include exercise of public authority, and what specifically causes stress of conscience in their work. We conducted six qualitative interviews with social workers whose profession includes exercise of public authority. The result shows that all the respondents experience stress of conscience as they describe themselves having difficulties to cope with their bad conscience, thus leading to negative stress symptoms, both mentally and physically. The interviewees described, however, the experience of stress of conscience in various degrees which were categorized: constant presence of stress of conscience, presence of stress of conscience in specific situations, and conscious suppression of stress of conscious. The result further shows that stress of conscious can be created by the demands and expectations that the organisation, clients and their relatives, as well as the social workers have, if they are experienced as overwhelming and conflicting. Our study indicates that there is a need for further research regarding stress of conscience within social workers.