Social work “in time” and “on time” : Deadline interaction in the social services
(2020) NORDPRO-konferens 2020-Profesjoner i bevegelse i Norden- Abstract (Swedish)
- Abstract NORDPRO-conference 2020
Teres Hjärpe
School of Social Work
Lund university
Teres.hjarpe@soch.lu.se
Social work “in time” and “on time” - Deadline interaction in the social services
When a social worker in the Swedish social services investigates the needs of children at risk of being psychologically or physically harmed, there is a specified time limit for how long these investigations may last. The time limit was introduced in the Social Services Act in 1998 as a response to severe critique from citizens, authorities and media regarding working methods, transparency and legal security. This presentation explores what it means to govern child care investigators’ use of time by giving... (More) - Abstract NORDPRO-conference 2020
Teres Hjärpe
School of Social Work
Lund university
Teres.hjarpe@soch.lu.se
Social work “in time” and “on time” - Deadline interaction in the social services
When a social worker in the Swedish social services investigates the needs of children at risk of being psychologically or physically harmed, there is a specified time limit for how long these investigations may last. The time limit was introduced in the Social Services Act in 1998 as a response to severe critique from citizens, authorities and media regarding working methods, transparency and legal security. This presentation explores what it means to govern child care investigators’ use of time by giving measurable and decontextualized time – clock time – priority over time rhythms connected to inherent qualities¬ and meanings of the task. Alternative rhythms such as task-oriented time and relational time are explored and put in relation to measurable clock time. The argument is made that making time or time use measurable, is a way to make it accessible and governable from the outside, why it inevitably means for the professional to give up control and autonomy, and potentially to de-professionalisation. By exploring the expressions of clock time in the social workers’ temporal orientation, the analysis shows the ways in which a simple time limit gets reified and internalized, also with unintended consequences. It is also shown how time rhythms can both harmonize and compete with each other, and the situated considerations and negotiations this entails for the social workers. Data reveals that often when time rhythms collide the form (time limit) is prioritized over the content, yet there are times when the form is rejected as the overriding principle. A final result to highlight is that even when there is no competition or tension between time rhythms, and other professional arguments are available, social workers choose to legitimize decisions referring to the timely deadline.
The presentation is based on data that I collected for my doctoral thesis that I defended in January 2020. The approach is ethnographic, thus data consists of fieldnotes from participant observations, interview transcriptions, documents and photographs collected in two periods: Over 12 months in 2013-2014 and 6 months in 2017.
This presentation will suit the theme number 4: Domekraft och profesjonelt handlingsrom som resurs och fornyelse or theme 3. Profesjon, organisation oh ledelse.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3a3b6d3d-d3b7-4961-9e10-d4ba2b681f3b
- author
- Hjärpe, Teres LU
- organization
- alternative title
- Socialt arbete i tid och på tid : deadline-interaktion i socialtjänsten
- publishing date
- 2020-11-20
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- time governance, social work
- conference name
- NORDPRO-konferens 2020-Profesjoner i bevegelse i Norden
- conference location
- Adger, Norway
- conference dates
- 2020-11-19 - 2020-11-20
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 3a3b6d3d-d3b7-4961-9e10-d4ba2b681f3b
- alternative location
- https://www.uia.no/konferanser-og-seminarer/nordpro-konferansen-2020/paper-sesjoner
- date added to LUP
- 2021-08-18 08:45:37
- date last changed
- 2023-03-17 10:13:34
@misc{3a3b6d3d-d3b7-4961-9e10-d4ba2b681f3b,
abstract = {{Abstract NORDPRO-conference 2020<br/><br/>Teres Hjärpe<br/>School of Social Work<br/>Lund university<br/>Teres.hjarpe@soch.lu.se<br/><br/><br/>Social work “in time” and “on time” - Deadline interaction in the social services <br/><br/>When a social worker in the Swedish social services investigates the needs of children at risk of being psychologically or physically harmed, there is a specified time limit for how long these investigations may last. The time limit was introduced in the Social Services Act in 1998 as a response to severe critique from citizens, authorities and media regarding working methods, transparency and legal security. This presentation explores what it means to govern child care investigators’ use of time by giving measurable and decontextualized time – clock time – priority over time rhythms connected to inherent qualities¬ and meanings of the task. Alternative rhythms such as task-oriented time and relational time are explored and put in relation to measurable clock time. The argument is made that making time or time use measurable, is a way to make it accessible and governable from the outside, why it inevitably means for the professional to give up control and autonomy, and potentially to de-professionalisation. By exploring the expressions of clock time in the social workers’ temporal orientation, the analysis shows the ways in which a simple time limit gets reified and internalized, also with unintended consequences. It is also shown how time rhythms can both harmonize and compete with each other, and the situated considerations and negotiations this entails for the social workers. Data reveals that often when time rhythms collide the form (time limit) is prioritized over the content, yet there are times when the form is rejected as the overriding principle. A final result to highlight is that even when there is no competition or tension between time rhythms, and other professional arguments are available, social workers choose to legitimize decisions referring to the timely deadline.<br/> The presentation is based on data that I collected for my doctoral thesis that I defended in January 2020. The approach is ethnographic, thus data consists of fieldnotes from participant observations, interview transcriptions, documents and photographs collected in two periods: Over 12 months in 2013-2014 and 6 months in 2017. <br/><br/>This presentation will suit the theme number 4: Domekraft och profesjonelt handlingsrom som resurs och fornyelse or theme 3. Profesjon, organisation oh ledelse.<br/> <br/>}},
author = {{Hjärpe, Teres}},
keywords = {{time governance, social work}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
title = {{Social work “in time” and “on time” : Deadline interaction in the social services}},
url = {{https://www.uia.no/konferanser-og-seminarer/nordpro-konferansen-2020/paper-sesjoner}},
year = {{2020}},
}