| Summary: | This study investigates how robots employed to conduct the application processfor economic support in some Swedish municipalities impact the social workers’job. Specifically, how duties and time spent shifts, how the interpersonal meetingwith the client is affected, and how their autonomy and independence change as aconsequence of this transformation.A qualitative method with semi-structured interviews has been adopted for thestudy. Four respondents from different places in the country have beeninterviewed. The theory of McDonaldization and previous research in this areamake out a foundation for this study.The results show that the introduction of robots has led to new ways of workingand to redistribution of human recourses within some municipalities. This studycannot prove that robots free up time to work with clients, which was the mainreason for their introduction. Although the interpersonal meeting with the client isstill considered significant, this study shows that it is indeed challenged. Lastlythe study has not observed any strongly pronounced limitations of the autonomyand independence of social workers, but feelings of alienation have beenexpressed.
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