Browsing by Subject "Den öppna arbetsverksamheten"

The open work activity is a social service that the state and municipalities offer according to Finnish laws. The workplace can for example be a school kitchen or a store, the work assignments and work schedules are applied according to the client’s ability and needs. The aim of this thesis is to investigate if persons with mild developmental disabilities experience that the open work activity contributes to the development of sense of coherence (SOC). The main theoretical frame consists of Aaron Antonovsky’s SOC theory which consists of three dimensions: comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. This study is a qualitative study; the data was collected through individual interviews and questioners with four people who participate in the open work activity. The open work activity is a resource in a disabled persons life that can contribute to health. The open work activity can be viewed as a salutogenic way of working which focuses on the person’s resources instead of only looking at faults and obstacles. The results of the study suggest that the open work activity contributes to the development of sense of coherence. All three dimensions contribute to the development, especially comprehensibility and manageability is affected by the nature of the open work activity since the work is applied to the clients ability and needs. It was concluded that the workplace itself, that the respondents have somewhere to go everyday, gives them meaning. This thesis is an attempt to increase awareness about the open work activity and to produce knowledge about the client’s experiences. At a micro level this thesis can contribute to increased understanding of persons with developmental disabilities and at a macro level offer a new perspective to the social critic discourse.