From Rural to Urban: A Professional Transition
A Short Reflection
This summer, my family and I are leaving Umeå for Gothenburg. After nearly a decade in rural social services, the pulsating reality of the big city awaits.
Rural social work has shaped me profoundly. Here, the boundary between human and system is often thinner. The systems aren't as rigidly formalized, local knowledge becomes an important form of expertise, and relationships are more personal and meaningful.
Now a different reality awaits with greater specialization and more complex social structures. The system - our formalized methods and organizational frameworks - likely takes on a more prominent role.
As I prepare for the move, I'm struck by the fundamental differences in how social services are organized. In Nordmaling, we have 2 operations managers together responsible for 35 employees. In Bjurholm municipality, 4 social workers reported directly to the social services director. The contrast is striking – in Gothenburg city, there are a total of 223 managers within social services, including 186 unit managers and 37 department heads.
What fascinates me is how we can have such different organizational logic within the same profession, depending on geography and population base. This is a dimension of Sweden's social services that is often overlooked, but which has crucial importance for both the working environment, opportunities for specialization, and ultimately the quality of support we offer citizens.
I carry the lessons from rural areas into the urban context, ready to explore how the balance between human and system manifests in a new environment.
Do you have experience with similar transitions? What changed in your way of working?