Samhälle, individ och ansvar : en studie om synen på arbetslöshet
The aim of the thesis is to highlight and to problematize conceptions of unemployment in Swedish society. The questions guiding my work have been: Which conceptions of unemployment emerge in society? How are these dealt with by the unemployed? Work on the thesis has been guided by a social construct...
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| Format: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Language: | Swedish |
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Försvarshögskolan, Ledarskapscentrum
2016
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| Online Access: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-6143 http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:isbn:978-91-7063-691-2 |
| Summary: | The aim of the thesis is to highlight and to problematize conceptions of unemployment in Swedish society. The questions guiding my work have been: Which conceptions of unemployment emerge in society? How are these dealt with by the unemployed? Work on the thesis has been guided by a social constructionist approach. The empirical findings are constituted by four publications which, in various ways, are linked to overarching aim of the thesis. These publications consist of an analysis of the legal regulation surrounding the unemployed, a study of the activities of civil society organisations working with unemployed and two publications based on interviews with long-term unemployed young adults. The thesis provides increased knowledge of conceptions of unemployment in Swedish society. It shows that there is a widespread societal discourse concerning the individual being responsible for her/his unemployment, and that this conception has historically been well-grounded in Swedish labour market and social policy, as well as in people’s understandings. Among representatives of civil society organisations and unemployed individuals, there is also both a questioning of and a resistance to this understanding, indicating a possible change in the discourse. The thesis further shows that the individualisation of responsibility greatly affects individuals’ approaches in social contexts, as well as in their contacts with government agencies, but also when it comes to relationships with politics and political involvement. These insights are significant, for example during both policy formulation and efforts for the unemployed, bearing in mind that consideration needs to be paid to individual prerequisites in order for the individual’s strengths and abilities to be utilized. This is particulary important when it comes to those in an exposed position. === ”Men alltså grejen är ju att i dagens samhälle, i min ålder... Det är så många som är arbetslösa så det är så godkänt nu liksom. Folk tänker bara ’jaha är du också arbetslös’... Liksom antingen är dom arbetslösa själva, eller så har dom i alla fall en kompis eller tre som också är arbetslösa.” Den bild som framkommer i intervjun med Fredrik skiljer sig betydligt från den bild som ofta återspeglas i medier och politiska debatter, där individens egna ansvar och skyldigheter för att befinna sig i arbetslöshet betonas i allt högre grad. Dessa skilda utgångspunkter kan få olika följder ifråga om exempelvis förväntningar på arbetslösa, arbetslösa människors självbild eller arbetslöshetspolitik. Denna avhandling ger en ökad kunskap om vilka föreställningar om arbetslöshet som finns i det svenska samhället idag. Genom analyser av rättslig reglering, civilsamhälleliga organisationers verksamheter samt intervjuer med arbetslösa människor söker denna avhandling att synliggöra och problematisera förståelser av arbetslöshet samt hur dessa förståelser hanteras av arbetslösa. |
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