In the theoretical part of my graduation thesis, I highlighted the importance and
meaning of the institutional care and its impact on the recipients. I focused mainly on the
emotions and thoughts of elderly when they leave their home and what kind of an impact the
change of scenery has on them. My focus were still the emotions of the elderly and their
contact with the outside world, workers at the retirement home and with other residents.
Through it, I was able to uncover what kind of lifestyle they receive and if the retirement
home, provides them good quality of life. Because of the work I had done, I had to analyse the
meaning of emotional labour and how different authors perceive the meaning of it. Through
experience, I researched to what extent is the emotional labour present in the Retirement
Home Ljutomer and when executed, what does it mean to the recipients, how is it executed,
what are the rules that apply and how do the employees cope with stress. I concluded that
emotional labour applies to different kinds of work and is present in all work that is done with
the residents. Employees strive to accomplish the satisfaction of the resident, because they are
aware of the importance of authentic and real relations as well as the boundaries that need to
be set. The majority of the residents does not expect special display of emotions from the
employees, although the retirement homes expects exactly that. They expect the kindness of
all the employees, which creates a positive atmosphere. The retirement home does not provide
the support to the employees to cope with the stress, so they turn to their co-workers.
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