Employees in social care organizations are exposed to numerous risk factors, such as the demanding nature of the work, emotionally exhausting tasks, bureaucratization, ethical dilemmas, changing policies, a recent severe staff shortage, and more. This master's thesis consists of a quantitative and a qualitative part. First, I conducted a survey involving 563 employees, who were included in a non-random and convenience sample. I inquired about how employees in social care organizations actually feel at work, how satisfied they are with various aspects of their working life, the extent to which they experience specific psychosocial risks, the importance they attribute to employee care, and what forms of support are available to them within their organizations. In the qualitative part, I conducted 12 interviews with members of the management teams of organizations that had been mentioned by employees in the survey as examples of good practice. The leaders described the importance of caring for employees, presented good practices in this field, and discussed the challenges they face and what they believe is still needed to improve employee care.
The findings show that employees in social care organizations are most satisfied with job security, relationships with colleagues, and the freedom and autonomy in their work. They are least satisfied with their salary, other material benefits, and opportunities for career advancement. The most strongly felt psychosocial risks in the workplace are excessive bureaucratic procedures that limit their autonomy, high workloads, and unpredictable reactions from service users. Examples of good organizational practices in employee care include work organization and an organizational culture and climate that support employees (e.g., accessible and involved leadership in both professional work and staff relations, flexibility and understanding, investment in good interpersonal relationships, etc.), regular supervision and intervision, regular staff meetings, access to training, annual performance reviews, informal gatherings, certificates supporting the reconciliation of work and family life, workplace health promotion, and other psychosocial support programs.
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