What’s the meaning? Work practice and meaning of work in the Danish elder care sector

Abstract

This article examines the different perceptions of meaning of work among Danish home care workers and analyses how meaningful work is performed in the everyday work practices. The article is based on qualitative data (focus group interviews and observation studies), collected in two Danish municipalities, and the job crafting theory is used as framework of the analyses of the data. In the Danish home care sector, the daily task are pre-defined and written down in schedules, along with precise specification of the use of time that is permitted for each visit. These schedules constitute the daily work plan for each care worker. Results of the analyses show that job crafting is taking place in the home care sector. The work of the home care workers is about meeting the needs and wishes of the elderly in an everyday living context. The needs and wishes of the elderly do not always comply with the tasks, defined in the work plans, and therefore, care workers (to varying extents) find ways to combine the different aspects of work. Four categories of meaning were identified in the data, helping the elderly in establishing a structure in their everyday life, having a general responsibility for the elderly, performing a duty in society, and use of their professional skills. These perceptions of meaning of work seem to be closely related to the construction of these work practices, both as a motivational factor and as a result.