Die Macht der Gefühle. Emotionsregimes und Solidaritätshorizonte in der Pflegekrise

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, public discourse dealing with the long-term care system in Germany had signalled growing cost pressures, worries about quality outcomes, and notorious lack of time. While this has increased the challenges faced by care workers, stronger initiatives among them to change extant labour conditions are lacking, unlike in other social service settings. The article argues that this is also due to the role of emotions which concur with tensions or dilemmas and impact upon opportunities to take action. Drawing on a case study from the field of domiciliary care, the authors show how current regulatory frameworks, modes of management and individual coping strategies combine to produce “emotional regimes” which also influence attitudes towards users, colleagues and society as a whole. These emotional regimes are intertwined with specific “solidarity horizons”, hampering collective action by which this occupational group could enhance its social status and making any improvement improbable. Only more substantial and broad support from external social forces can create improvement.