Dilemmas in the daily work of social insurance officers

Social insurance officers, through their work with rehabilitation, have become an important part of the welfare state. The aim of this study was to explore the nature of the dilemmas they experience in their daily work using the critical incident technique. Dilemmas reported concerned 1) cooperation with other agents in the rehabilitation process, 2) internal social insurance routines and 3) direct client management. Consequences of dilemmas were delayed handling, extra work, emotional strain and ethical conflicts. The dilemmas were handled through continued rehabilitation, coordination measures and decision‐making. The findings showed the division of medical investigation and benefit decision in two authorities, the lack of education in behavioral sciences among the officers and divergent goals in different authorities. Further studies are needed on the rehabilitation process as well as the daily practice of social insurance officers.