避風港裡的波濤洶湧— 少年安置機構社會工作者情緒勞動經驗之研究

Abstract

本研究動機起始於研究者個人的工作經驗，社會工作者在工作中常需有高度的情緒涉入和勞動，加上少年安置機構工作型態與對象的特殊性，更令人好奇安置機構社工的情緒勞動經驗。故本研究從少年安置機構社工的視角及經驗切入，暸解社工工作中的情緒勞動樣貌以及實作中的矛盾及困境。試圖開啟對安置機構工作者勞動經驗的理解，並提升對其工作困境的重視。 研究者採取質性研究方法，深度訪談了八位少年安置機構社工。研究發現安置機構社工的情緒勞動樣貌多元且複雜。在由安置機構、社工專業與社會期待所塑成的情感規則之下，社工一方面要真實真誠地與個案工作，另一方面也需符合安置機構所賦予的職責要求，並要服膺於專業的情感規則，故使社工在實務工作中陷入矛盾與內在衝突的困境。最後，依據研究結果在安置政策、安置機構及社工專業教育等面向上，提出實務上的建議。

This study was inspired by my previous work experience in a group home for youth. It was found that, as a helping profession, social workers tended to involve in a lot of emotional engagement during interactions with clients. The uniqueness of the client characteristics and group home settings makes the emotional labor experienced by social workers there were quite different than others. Therefore, this study aims to examine the emotional labor among social workers in group homes for youth, and attempts to understand their experiences and challenges faced by them. The study also wants to emphasize the comprehension of emotional labor among social workers working in group homes for youth, hoping that some strategies can be developed to deal with this issue. This study uses a qualitative research design, interviewing eight social workers through in-depth interviews. The results show a multidimensional complexity in emotional labor of these social workers, caused by emotion rules from institutional regulations, social work professional and social expectations. On the one hand, social workers needed to provide services with authenticity; on the other hand, social workers were asked to follow the professional emotion rules which might not be accepted by social workers. As a result, social workers were caught in between the dilemma of authenticity to clients or selves. Based on the findings, this study concludes with some important issues for further discussion. It also provides suggestions for policies, practices, and social work education to better help social workers deal with emotional labor.