Towards solidarity: working relations in personal assistance
This article explores personal assistance from the assistants' perspectives. Many assistants are satisfied with their work and the possibility to combine the work with other activities on a flexible basis. However, the structural framework of the personal assistance scheme creates risks for the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Stockholm University Press
2014-04-01
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| Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.sjdr.se/articles/485 |
| _version_ | 1797712100518264832 |
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| author | Ingrid Guldvik Karen Christensen Monica Larsson |
| author_facet | Ingrid Guldvik Karen Christensen Monica Larsson |
| author_sort | Ingrid Guldvik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores personal assistance from the assistants' perspectives. Many assistants are satisfied with their work and the possibility to combine the work with other activities on a flexible basis. However, the structural framework of the personal assistance scheme creates risks for the workers who carry out the assistance. These risks are related to strong user control, intimate and personalized relations, part-time work, weakly formalized working conditions and few chances to gain qualifications for future employment opportunities. The gendered labour market is also a structural condition of the scheme. The article focuses on three theoretical working life discussions: flexibility, professionalization and co-determination (between service user and assistant). The article reveals the specific and inverted form these processes are transformed into by the personal assistance scheme and suggests that they create barriers for sustainable working conditions for the assistants as well as options for developing solidarity between service users and assistants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:16:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-03dc6586789e4732893a6d74b886c82d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1501-7419 1745-3011 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:16:48Z |
| publishDate | 2014-04-01 |
| publisher | Stockholm University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-03dc6586789e4732893a6d74b886c82d2023-09-02T22:43:33ZengStockholm University PressScandinavian Journal of Disability Research1501-74191745-30112014-04-0116S1486110.1080/15017419.2014.897644414Towards solidarity: working relations in personal assistanceIngrid Guldvik0Karen Christensen1Monica Larsson2Faculty of Education and Social Work, Lillehammer University College, Box 952, 2604 Lillehammer, NorwayDepartment of Sociology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Social Work, Malmø University, Malmø, SwedenThis article explores personal assistance from the assistants' perspectives. Many assistants are satisfied with their work and the possibility to combine the work with other activities on a flexible basis. However, the structural framework of the personal assistance scheme creates risks for the workers who carry out the assistance. These risks are related to strong user control, intimate and personalized relations, part-time work, weakly formalized working conditions and few chances to gain qualifications for future employment opportunities. The gendered labour market is also a structural condition of the scheme. The article focuses on three theoretical working life discussions: flexibility, professionalization and co-determination (between service user and assistant). The article reveals the specific and inverted form these processes are transformed into by the personal assistance scheme and suggests that they create barriers for sustainable working conditions for the assistants as well as options for developing solidarity between service users and assistants.https://www.sjdr.se/articles/485personal assistancecare workemployee perspectiveflexibilityprofessionalizationco-determination |
| spellingShingle | Ingrid Guldvik Karen Christensen Monica Larsson Towards solidarity: working relations in personal assistance Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research personal assistance care work employee perspective flexibility professionalization co-determination |
| title | Towards solidarity: working relations in personal assistance |
| title_full | Towards solidarity: working relations in personal assistance |
| title_fullStr | Towards solidarity: working relations in personal assistance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards solidarity: working relations in personal assistance |
| title_short | Towards solidarity: working relations in personal assistance |
| title_sort | towards solidarity working relations in personal assistance |
| topic | personal assistance care work employee perspective flexibility professionalization co-determination |
| url | https://www.sjdr.se/articles/485 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ingridguldvik towardssolidarityworkingrelationsinpersonalassistance AT karenchristensen towardssolidarityworkingrelationsinpersonalassistance AT monicalarsson towardssolidarityworkingrelationsinpersonalassistance |