Vitt, kalt och kommunalt : En kvalitativ studie ur ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv på socialarbetares upplevelse av atmosfären i socialtjänstens fysiska rum

Sammanfattning

This study examines social workers’ experiences of the atmosphere within the physical spaces of social services. The study aims to illuminate how the design of physical environments and their atmospheres are perceived, created, and attributed significance in encounters with clients. The study is based on a triangulation of observations and two qualitative focus group interviews with social workers employed within social services. The material was analysed using thematic analysis grounded in a phenomenological approach. The findings indicate that social workers attribute considerable importance to the physical environment and that the atmosphere influences the relationship with the client. Factors such as the shape of furniture, colour schemes, and room size emerged as significant.The results also reveal differences between two district administrations in Stockholm and suggest that the design of physical spaces is not prioritised within social work practice. The study contributes knowledge regarding how the atmosphere of physical spaces constitutes an underutilised aspect of social work, and how greater awareness of spatial design could foster increased trust and make existing power structures in encounters between social services and clients more visible, thereby enhancing social accessibilit.