The social dynamics of devaluation in an aged care context

Abstract

This article examines the way that aged care workers and clients are devalued. It is argued that they share a stigmatised and marginalised position, not experiencing recognition at individual, rights or societal levels. The research draws on a qualitative, ethnographic study of aged care and disability support, with Honneth's recognition theory used to analyse the intersection of practice and meaning in this work. The study reveals that workers' and clients' presentations of a competent self are compromised by external signals of mistrust and devaluing, forms of misrecognition. These include low wages and status for workers, public and policy discourses that position them and their clients as mendicant or undeserving, and demeaning treatment from organisations. In turn, those participants who lacked a sense of themselves as uniquely valuable, as deserving of rights, and as contributing to the shared project of society, displayed practices and perspectives that were disabling of themselves and one another. Their interactions were characterised by distrust, resistance and mutual disabling. Boomageddon and silver tsunami scenarios are part of the problem; such discourses of misrecognition must be contested.

Deeply Discrediting: A Systematic Review Examining the Conceptualizations and Consequences of the Stigma of Working in Aged Care

“…Nevertheless, it is misleading to assume the stigma of working in aged care is not a visible workforce challenge, as workers have voiced this problem within industry publications (see Colgrave & Austen, 2016). Instead, researchers like Banks (2018) argue this deficiency may reflect society's discomfort towards discussing topics like ageing and aged care.…”

“…Goffman (1963) defines stigma as "an attribute that is deeply discrediting and that reduces the worth of an individual" (p.3). The stigma of working in aged care refers to discrediting workers on the basis that they work in aged care (Banks, 2018). For example, aged care workers may be tainted with stigmatizing social evaluations associated with ageing (Ostaszkiewicz, O'Connell, & Dunning, 2016) and caring for older adults (Walmsley & McCormack, 2016).…”

Building relational research capacity in care homes in the COVID-19 era: applying recognition theory to the research agenda

“…These ten forms of recognition/misrecognition are profound and cover aspects of day to day care, how respect and visibility of a care home resident’s unique personhood is made manifest or not, and the social domains of recognition/misrecognition of long-term care settings. Banks (2018, p.167) in an Australian study used Honneth’s (1996) work to explore recognition of aged care workers and finds study participants are “[…] compromised by external signals of mistrust and devaluing forms of misrecognition”, as are the people with whom they work. These works illustrate the potency of Honneth’s (1996) recognition theory as a lens through which to explore complex power relations at micro-macro levels.…”

“…They have asserted that older adults can also be resilient and adaptive (Pereyra et al , 2020). Banks (2018, p.196) suggests that “[…] discursive constructions of older people (as frail, vulnerable, passive “others”) are likely to impact on both older people themselves, and on the dynamics of activities or services connected with them”. Cultural change is also needed in attitudes towards ageing and dying (Mason, 2012).…”

Relaciones de reconocimiento en un trabajo feminizado. Ejes analíticos a partir del caso de mujeres operarias de la industria chilena del retail

“…Forjada en el campo de las teorías de la justicia y la filosof ía política, la teoría del reconocimiento del filósofo alemán Axel Honneth -inscrita en la tradición de la Escuela de Frankfurt, y enriquecida por el diálogo con diversos autores (Dejours, Deranty, Renault & Smith, 2018;Honneth, 1997Honneth, , 2006Honneth, , 2012Voswinklel, 2012) -ha sido incorporada en los últimos años al acervo conceptual de los estudios psicosociales del trabajo (Banks, 2018;Fisher & Owen, 2008;Guerra-Arrau y Stecher, 2020;Motakef, 2019). A partir de este marco analítico, se han estudiado las condiciones intersubjetivas para la conformación de las identidades y experiencias laborales, se han cuestionado las tradicionales visiones instrumentales sobre las motivaciones de los individuos para adscribirse al trabajo remunerado, y se han comprendido los conflictos y la violencia en el trabajo como formas de agravio moral que surgen de modalidades negativas, incompletas y/o instrumentales de reconocimiento (Honneth, 1997;Smith, 2012).…”