Managing Organized Insecurity - on Unrestricted Working Hours and Restricted Relationships in Elderly Care

Part-time employment is more than twice as common among women than men in Sweden and elderly care is the biggest part-time employment sector. The most common reason for working part-time is that full-time employment is not... [ view full abstract ]

Part-time employment is more than twice as common among women than men in Sweden and elderly care is the biggest part-time employment sector. The most common reason for working part-time is that full-time employment is not offered. In recent years, new ways of organizing working hours to allow for more full-time jobs without increasing costs have been introduced for care workers in elderly care. The new workday patterns are characterised by flexible working hours based on the needs of the workplace. Instead of hiring temporary staff, regular staff members fill in for absent co-workers. The aim of the study is to analyse how organized workplace flexibility affect the daily lives of employees in elderly care. The Classic Grounded Theory method was used in a secondary analysis of interviews with 140 employees and around 20 heads in Swedish municipal elderly care.

A theory–generated model was developed, showing that managing the organized insecurity caused by workplace flexibility affects the employees. Firstly, because of economic and social obligations to the employer and co-workers, the employees have to be available to work although this means making sacrifices in the private sphere. Secondly, they have to be adaptable to unknown clients and co-workers, which undermines their chances to provide good care. In elderly care, the solution to the unsatisfactory part-time model results in an obstacle to satisfactory full-time work. The transformation of work – unrestricted working hours and reduction of job satisfaction through the restriction of meaning-creating relationships – seriously undermines employees’ everyday lives and care providing work.