To Örebro University

oru.seÖrebro University Publications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Newly Qualified Social Workers’ Careers: A Mix of Turbulence, Goals and Safety
Örebro University, School of Law, Psychology and Social Work.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5675-9428
2023 (English)In: British Journal of Social Work, ISSN 0045-3102, E-ISSN 1468-263X, Vol. 53, no 2, p. 794-811Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Extensive job turnover is a pressing concern in social work. This article reports the result of a mixed-methods study with newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) about their experiences during their first five years in the profession. What career patterns can be discerned and what are the NQSWs’ motives for staying in or leaving a particular job? The theoretical point of departure is that careers must be understood from several interacting perspectives, as individual motives and objectives meet and interact with contextual conditions. The findings from interviews and a questionnaire indicate that most NQSWs have changed employment three to eight times during a five-year period. Most quit because of bad working conditions, although some changed jobs as part of an incremental development towards achieving a particular position. Three different types of careers are found: turbulent, goal-oriented, and safe careers. NQSWs are only partially rational regarding career decisions, and most decisions are made pragmatically, especially for those with turbulent careers, which most of the respondents experienced.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford University Press, 2023. Vol. 53, no 2, p. 794-811
Keywords [en]
career, careership theory, mixed-methods, newly qualified social workers, retention, turnover
National Category
Social Work
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-100715DOI: 10.1093/bjsw/bcac154ISI: 000841335300001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85171796393OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-100715DiVA, id: diva2:1688364
Available from: 2022-08-18 Created: 2022-08-18 Last updated: 2023-12-08Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textScopus

Authority records

Petersén, Anna

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Petersén, Anna
By organisation
School of Law, Psychology and Social Work
In the same journal
British Journal of Social Work
Social Work

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 192 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf