Characteristics of the study population

Table 1 presents characteristics of the 16 participants working in five different social firms. Supervisors were engaged in food and beverage service activities, services to buildings and landscape activities, printing and reproduction of recorded media, office administrative, office support and other business support activities or wholesale of bicycles and their parts and supplies (based on [43]).

Table 1 Participant characteristics of supervisors in social firms (n = 16)Job demands

Referring to the proposed theoretical framework, Table 2 includes an overview of sub-categories referring to job demands and resources as well as personal ones of supervisors in social firms.

Table 2 Overview of job and personal demands and resources of employees in social firmsCategory work tasks Guiding work tasks

Guiding work tasks for employees were described as challenging, e.g. when employees were less able to think or work in advance, when making unpleasant decisions or when the supervisor’s expertise was needed in many different places. Overall, supervisors tried to provide the employees enriched working conditions with new learning experiences and a variety work tasks.

“Then this, yes thinking in advance (...) is just not present here, you have to tell them ‘okay, do this, do this, do this, look there again’ (…), it is just the whole thing around, to really look if everything is ready, if everything is cleaned, if everything has been done, to work in advance, yes that is just the difficulty, the difficulty of it, that it is sometimes very complex”. (Supervisor #14, male)

Other supervisors described difficulties in learning to delegate work tasks to employees.

“Because that's our job, we're supposed to delegate, we're supposed to make sure they do it right, we're supposed to teach them how to do it, we're supposed to train them, (…) we're supposed to be able to sort out small problems and so on and that, we don't have the time to do everything by ourselves.” (Supervisor #4, female)

Furthermore, tasks in addition to the actual work activity of the supervisor were described, including for instance auditing or administration tasks, as well as monthly settlement, waste disposal or dealing with craftsmen.

“So I have all kinds of things on my mind here all day long. So that's the (...) production, but people also come to me when something is wrong with the disposal.” (Supervisor #14, male)

Emotional demands

Job demands referring to employee’s sensitivities were also mentioned. In spite of the consideration of individual needs in planning processes, employees were sometimes described as unable to accept the support options provided by supervisors.

“Well, there are also sensitivities of people that you have to respond to, or when people feel stressed and you have to see how to deal with it, you have to take it seriously, you can't just walk away from it, it's your own perception, even if it may not be right, it's there in any case, and that takes energy.” (Supervisor #5, male)

Since employee’s fears and concerns were described as more present, supervisors also reported emotional demands and worries about their employees, e.g. when they do not show up at work or due to their private problems.

“Yes, so you also get personal backgrounds sometimes, which are quite tragic, there are also employees who perhaps also share a lot of personal things about themselves and sometimes it's already a bit too much for me, I sometimes take that with me, but it keeps within limits.” (Supervisor #3, male)

Overall, a high number of conversations during a work day were reported.

“Also so the amount of people can be very challenging here, right, when many people want something from you.” (Supervisor #3, male)

Customer contact

Supervisors described challenges during contact with customers, e.g. when they requested a lot of appreciation, couldn’t make one’s choice or when customer contact could only be taken over by the supervisor.

“Customer contact, yes, can be a challenge, sure, so definitely, (...) the people can definitely be exhausting, they also demand a lot of appreciation, so I've already had to hear that I didn't raise my people well, they never greet (...) so you have to be careful, so I always say hello to them and be polite.” (Supervisor #5, male)

Category work organisation Conflicts between social and economic objectives of the company

Another topic which was added included conflicts between economic and social objectives. Those conflicts often resulted from a limited performance of the employees in combination with high customer expectations regarding speed, implementation and price policies. Other demands resulted due to additional socio-pedagogical activities such as personal conversations or when supervisors had to deal with acute challenges of employees during high workloads (e.g. when conflicts aroused during high order volumes in the gastronomy sector).

“And because I also carry out these socio-pedagogical activities, i.e. personal, emotional discussions with the people, when there is again somehow a strained atmosphere in somebody’s home or something is wrong. If I notice that the boys are strained, then I have to sit down together for half an hour, drink a coffee, eat a piece of cake and then they should have the space to open up a bit and tell again what's going on. Of course, if I do something like that, I can't do anything else at the same time, because, as I said, my attention should be focused on the person. If I then write an e-mail on the side, then I can just as well refrain from it, that doesn't get anyone anywhere.” (Supervisor #11, male)

“I'm the economic factor between the, the employee or staff or something. That means I have to juggle in between again and again, and sometimes that's quite a challenge. When I think. ‘Man, that's actually not so bad. This is going to take ten minutes. Why have you been at this for two hours?’ But I can't say that like that. I have to then somehow see that I can somehow manage it. So that, that's exactly the point, that's good as well as bad.” (Supervisor #14, male)

Therefore, supervisors tried to focus more on employees’ resources than on economic results or refrain from orders that are not solvable for employees, because they want to maintain personnel resources in a long-term and sustainable way without putting the employees at risk.

Work absences of employees

A topic which is connected with the above mentioned conflicts was work absences of employees due to mental health conditions which must be intercepted or represented by the supervisor, for instance by means of overtime or reorganisation (especially a challenge in case of high workloads or deadlines for customer orders).

“But it is challenging (...) when someone drops out at short notice or is emotionally unable at the moment and then simply drops out in the middle of it or just can't perform as they otherwise would, I think that's a challenge.” (Supervisor #13, female)

In general, staff scheduling was described as challenging, when considerations for absences or emotional crises had to be taken into account.

Collaboration with employees

Challenges in collaboration with disabled employees were added as a job demand e.g. due to the forgetfulness of the employees or when the same questions were often asked (also with employees holding outsourced jobs of sheltered workshops). This was especially challenging in situations with a high work intensity.

“If the employees don't listen and then keep coming back, it's fun to teach them again, but sometimes just in stressful situations, you think, ‘Oh, I've already explained that to you five times,’ so I don't say that, but I think to myself, ‘How many times do I have to explain that to you,’ because you like doing it, but sometimes it's stressful.” (Supervisor #4, female)

High work intensity and time pressure

Moreover, a high work intensity was described by supervisors, e.g. when many conversations were conducted or there was a high workload in the kitchen as applied for the gastronomy sector, wherefore work time was described as not sufficient.

“So of course there are stressful days, today for example was a very stressful day, because today was incredibly busy, (...) like in a normal kitchen, (...) just with more people, it is then also already stressful.” (Supervisor #10, male)

An additional unpredictability was also stated when working in the gastronomy sector.

“You can never plan gastronomy, it's always a surprise every day what happens, yes.” (Supervisor #10, male)

Supervisors added that they worked under time pressure due to deadlines or when something was forgotten.

“So the challenge is generally always the time, that you are often limited in time (…), that there are always deadlines that you have to meet and so, that is such a challenge.” (Supervisor #15, male)

Working hours

Therefore, supervisors informed about high numbers of overtime hours, even despite compensation possibilities. As a result, e.g. only little time for doing sports was left.

“Yes, insofar as I still have to carry around a hundred hours of overtime in a forty-hour week, even though I'm always at home for a day. So overtime is simply the issue there.” (Supervisor #14, male)

Moreover, challenges in organising working time were added, e.g. when working time extends over the day or when organising working hours at weekends and during lunch times, respectively.

Undefined communication structures

Additionally, supervisors underlined that the social firm’s structures still needed to be defined, e.g. referring to lacking communication strategies and means, work processes, substitution arrangements or the handling of customer inquiries.

“Yes, it's quite different, so there's actually a lot of communication here, but sometimes something falls through the cracks or it's a last-minute agreement, I think there's just a lack of fixed communication strategies or means of communication or work, i.e. fixed work processes, even in the case of a substitute or so that's sometimes a bit difficult.” (Supervisor #13, female)

Accessibility and dissolution of boundaries

Another topic of work organisation was the supervisor’s permanent accessibility, also in the context of work requests on the weekend in messenger groups.

“What I really feel burdened about is actually that I am simply always reachable. That is stressful, that is of course also the case when I am on vacation, then I don't turn off my cell phone, because I use my work cell phone at the same time as my private cell phone. (...) and now it's also the case that I get a lot more calls spread throughout the day and sometimes the calls, as I said earlier, come at the most inconvenient times, when I'm doing something recreationally with my friends or doing sports, and now it's the case that even when I'm on vacation, I get calls all the time and I still forward them and can't quite tear myself away from work.” (Supervisor #6, male)

Other topics from the interviews referred to a low financial remuneration (wherefore individual supervisors worked additional part-time to earn more money), challenges due to the daily commute or a lack of initial training for the supervisors. If in smaller social firms the direct supervisor also held the position of the managing director, challenges in negotiations with the integration office (a German authority who is responsible for funding construction, expansion, modernization and equipment including business consulting and other special efforts) were also mentioned as demanding.

Category social relations Lack of social support

For supervisors, a lack of social support was mentioned as a job demand, especially when they worked alone in the department without a disability.

“So it's really challenging and energy-consuming that I'm alone, I don't have anyone with me in the company who is, let's say, without a disability or who can also take the reins properly and everything.” (Supervisor #7, female)

“Of course, so I am now just looking for supportive manpower that we here still/ So also a fully resilient person who also again so a bit an assistance of my, for my, occurs for me as an assistant (…) so a few of the processes that I'm doing here at the moment can also be done while I'm on vacation and yes, can also work off a bit again, if worst comes to worst and yes. Then I just, then I just look for appropriate support. (...) That is (…) not an unknown phenomenon that care ratios in such facilities are then also difficult to produce to the extent that one would actually need them.” (Supervisor #11, male)

In the same way, supporting arrangements weren’t available for certain tasks, e.g., when customer contact must be handled by supervisors (as a single point of contact).

Conflict management for employees

Next, support in case of conflicts among employees were mentioned as burdensome, which aroused due to different skills of the employees or with non-target group employees.

“The most problems cause employees who do not come from the target group. They don't quite understand and then you have to exchange them from time to time, right? Because then they bring in unrest and that's not so good, of course.” (Supervisor #16, male)

Therefore, supervisors had to reconstruct, offer different tasks or dismiss certain employees.

Conflict management with supervisors involved

In the same vein, conflicts were also mentioned in which supervisors themselves were involved. On the one hand, when perceiving power relationships in a different way despite flat hierarchies or when supervisors were played off against each other.

“At the moment, you rather have the feeling that (…) others are getting a bit more of the reins in their hands, that they sometimes that you have the feeling that they feel like something better in the meantime, although we are all still equal and a lot of these things (…). And untruths are also constantly being spread to some extent, that's just this problem.” (Supervisor #7, female)

On the other hand, conflicts between supervisors and employees were added, e.g. due to high levels of employee’s aggressiveness or when supervisors were newly introduced to a team.

“So clearly I have an employee who likes to get very, very aggressive sometimes and then I actually have him under control, but despite all that, it then just has to be discussed, right?” (Supervisor #16, male)

As an additional job demand, conflicts between the supervisor and the management were depicted, e.g. due to changes in personnel, a different professional socialization and resulting views on staff management (technical-commercial vs. socio-pedagogical approaches), lacking communication between management and supervisors or denied requests for support.

“Keyword differences with the management, on this flat management level, so that has also not (...) necessarily had positive effects on my psyche.” (Supervisor #9, male)

Communication with hearing impaired employees

Supervisors described challenges, when communicating with hearing impaired employees, e.g. when dealing with urgent customer complaints or when supervisors wanted to involve hearing impaired colleagues more in team interactions.

“Then communication with hearing impaired people is always a challenge. We manage it relatively well and there is always a pen and a piece of paper available. But I think it is very challenging for both sides, because hearing impaired people understand the world differently and see it differently than we hearing people do. Yes, both sides have to go further and further and more and more towards each other, always try to find more understanding for each other, why a hearing impaired person reacts the way he does, we hearing people just don't understand, because they simply have a different way of dealing with each other”. (Supervisor #3, male)

Lack of appreciation

Both a lack of appreciation from the management as well as from customers were presented as job demands by supervisors.

“So I've been doing this for a few years now (...) people are always stingy with appreciation, it's like that, I've learned that if you don't say anything, that's always good, because if something is bad, then the guests say something or our manager says something, of course he should, I ask, I ask for feedback, but then also say something positive, would also be good for them, not for me, but for the guys in the kitchen, they are happy about it, if it doesn't come from me, but from the manager or who knows who was there”. (Supervisor #10, male)

Other examples were given, when only little appreciation from the management was provided despite a variety of support services offered to employees (support with debts, phone calls, plans, photos for support).

Category work environment

In terms of the work environment, exposure of the supervisor to heat was mentioned as demanding, as well as limited shower facilities and small cramped changing rooms.

“External, external conditions I have noticed, (…) when it was very hot these days. Then I, I noticed that I'm no longer capable, so there was at 4 p.m., I was already out of breath, I just yawned, so that's my, that's my personal story, yes, I was totally exhausted.” (Supervisor #9, male)

Furthermore, kitchen equipment was placed too high, supervisors had to lift heavy things when no support was available and perform activities that require constant standing.

“If I have to lift something heavy, my doctors tell me to avoid it. But if there's no other way at that moment, then I do it.” (Supervisor #2, male)

Considering work equipment, technical problems like updates in everyday work were added as demanding.

Category personal demands

Several personal demands were mentioned within the interviews, including learned behavioural patterns within the supervisors’ career, such as not sparing oneself when working as a service provider, encountering challenges due to prior self-employment or when working as a chef.

“As I said, I was self-employed for a long time and now I also worked in the gastronomy, but no longer, no longer self-employed, of course you run the store somehow, everything should work or so, but at the end of the evening, yes, you've done your job, you go home, you don't have to go shopping or to the tax advisor and things like that, that is, that was definitely a challenge that you also have to slow down a bit.” (Supervisor #2, male)

“Or when the customer says, I need this and so, since I am a service provider through and through, the whole thing is a bit stupid as a service provider sometimes, but it's like that, I actually spare myself quite little, that's unfortunately God's way, I know it too, but, there the leopard can't change its spots.” (Supervisor #15, male)

Additional demands were posed by the supervisors’ own expectations towards him or herself, supervisors’ own emotions or wanting to help, which is not always possible in an immediate way.

“Sure also I am a person who has emotions. You can't turn that off. Sometimes I also clatter around.” (Supervisor #11, male)

“Then of course you try to get other people involved, to ask and talk to them or something, but if it's something acute, it's sometimes actually more difficult (…), because I'm a person, I just want to help and sometimes it doesn't work right away.” (Supervisor #7, female)

Job resources

In addition to the displayed job and personal demands, supervisors also mentioned various resources based on the proposed theoretical framework.

Category work tasks Meaning of work

For supervisors, working in social firms was associated with a high meaning of work, e.g. when progress was observed among employees, when they learned new things, had more courage, elevated language and motor skills or when they were no longer afraid of the supervisors absence during vacation. As a result, independence or stability were reported as well as increased working hours or decreased bad days due to the employee’s mental health conditions. Therefore, supervisors tried to find out strengths and weaknesses of the employees and to support them. Overall, supervisors reported higher aspirations of work compared to other settings, that employees were grateful being allowed to work (e.g. after a long period of unemployment) and attributed higher importance to the job, wherefore they enjoyed working with a high motivation.

“I simply notice that the people in my department are doing well, that they feel good, that they like coming to work, that they are motivated, that they want to get something done, that they want to learn something new. (...) And what it means for these people to have this job. And that is what, yes, what for me is an incredibly good feeling, (…) I am this job. (…) And that's for, for people here, it's an incredible stability in their whole life. And that's fantastic.” (Supervisor #14, male)

Variety of work tasks

Additionally, a high variety of work tasks and a combination of professional and educational tasks, wherefore their motivation was not only accessed via sales numbers only, was stated by supervisors.

“I think that's good too, that's actually also the profession that I like, it's just a combination of technical work and also pedagogy that I think is good too, yes.” (Supervisor #5, male)

Moreover, a variety of work tasks was also depicted in terms of the supervisor’s health conditions, including a mixture of sitting activities and such in motion.

Work autonomy

The third sub-category refers to the supervisors’ work autonomy and that supervisors could divide up work by himself or herself. Supervisors described despite certain budgetary or staff management guidelines, no control by the management and high levels of trust placed in them.

“So what I find very nice is that I can, I say, arrange my work myself, that I am alone, so that no one is standing over me and telling me all the time ‘now do this, do this, do this, do this’ and that there is a lot of trust placed in me.” (Supervisor #7, female)

Pleasure in working with people

Overall, supervisors reported pleasure when working with people and finding different ways of communication. For instance, this applied when working with employees holding outsourced jobs from sheltered workshops in social firms.

“But what I find especially positive is this real feeling of, working in a social profession. Because it really makes a difference how you talk to people and (...) and that's good because we found such a, a, a good way of communication.” (Supervisor #14, male)

However, supervisors described also that they needed to acclimate when communicating with hearing impaired employees.

Category work organisation Participation in shaping the structure of the social firm

Supervisors reported participation in shaping the structures of the social firm in many ways like changes of the supervisors own or the employees’ workplaces, in terms of a further development of processes and workflows, shift or holiday schedules, personnel decisions, the introduction of substitution arrangements or as applied for the gastronomy sector within the menu. Overall, supervisors could ask for support to decrease administrative or maintenance tasks and were able to influence decisions due to their expertise.

“Yes, if it's just a matter of someone, I'll say now not fitting into the team, then I can decide that. That is, that is also part of my job. Because only I am able to judge that.” (Supervisor #16, male)

In general, supervisors highlighted a flat hierarchy and communication at eye level in the social firm.

“That people communicate at eye level, so the hierarchy is very flat here, I think that's very good.” (Supervisor #13, female)

Trainings and seminars

As a basis for working in social frims, trainings and seminars on different topics were offered for supervisors, including occupational health-related topics like prevention and occupational safety, employee or disability-related topics, like sign language for beginners, basic pedagogical skills, interaction with staff, mental health conditions, forensics or other relevant topics like safe driving training or agile management techniques to promote cooperation and organisation or professional trainings. In some cases supervisors were able to reflect and ask questions after four weeks after the seminar. Likewise, there was also the possibility for supervisors to select seminars for employees.

“Yes, (...) we have really good, good opportunities and good courses we can attend there.” (Supervisor #3, male)

Individual supervisors rated the seminars as less helpful, though a reflection of a successful cooperation in their social firm was enabled.

Meetings on a regular basis

Additionally, meetings for improvements or weekly planning processes were scheduled, e.g. among supervisors, in team meetings in or between different departments and together with all employees. Overall, an open culture of discussion and feedback among supervisors was reported. Organisational aspects included the preparation of a protocol with responsibilities and offers for mutual support as well as the involvement of a social education worker or sign language interpreter.

“I think so too, so we're really, so super set up and if something's bugging us or something's stressing us out, we either say it immediately, so we immediately go to the next one and say watch out, so this and this didn't go well, this needs to be changed or like I said, we discuss it in our groups, in our round tables.” (Supervisor #4, female)

Individual supervisors reported that conducting various meetings on a regular basis was considered as time-consuming but useful.

Substitution arrangements

Supervisors were able to rely on fixed substitution arrangements in contrast to the situation before, partly after consultation with customers, if those arrangements could cause time delays.

“But in the meantime everyone has a substitute, as I said, we are constantly working on improvements and we all have a substitute and if the substitute is not there, then we still have someone who can step in again, so I don't have to worry about that. That was always such a problem, you couldn't take a vacation, you went to work sick, because you thought ‘oh God they can't do it’”. (Supervisor #4, female)

Other supervisors illustrated that substitution arrangements were still being implemented.

Cooperation and exchange within the social firm

A cross-departmental exchange was described as a job resource, where supervisors liked to visit different departments to help, keep close contact and get involved in the work (e.g. in sales and customer service) or as applied to the gastronomy sector with a close exchange between service and kitchen departments.

“Yes, we are always very good at exchanging ideas among ourselves and I think that works really well here in our company, we talk to each other a lot and also across departments quite a lot.” (Supervisor #3, male)

Overall, individual social firms were described to be relatively small business which couldn’t afford everything and therefore benefited from higher-level structures of their parent company, e.g. through the use of work equipment.

Cooperation and networking with external organisations or players

If in smaller social firms the direct supervisor also held the position of the managing director, then cooperation with external organisations was described as beneficial.

“Otherwise, the cooperation (...) works out very well with the Job Center for the severely disabled, they are highly motivated and support you where they can, that has to be emphasised.” (Supervisor #8, male)

Also networking with (industry) players was highlighted by supervisors, e.g. with other retailers for technical questions or for information on political structures.

“Otherwise (...) I am also very well connected with the (...) scene in (name of the city). That's why I can, well, I just have my retailer colleagues there for technical questions.” (Supervisor #11, male)

Working hours

Regarding the working hours of social firm’s supervisors, early closing times and free time on weekends especially in the gastronomy sector were highlighted as job resources. Additionally, the use of flexible working hours without making prior arrangements was underlined as well as the use of working time accounts to reduce overtime.

“I just go half an hour earlier today or I just come half an hour later or so, I don't have to arrange it beforehand, so there I have an uncanny, yes, yes, uncanny freedom (...) of course I only go if the kitchen is reasonable and, and nothing can go wrong anymore in quotation marks, sure, but I can then estimate that very well and that is uncannily, yes, advantageous.” (Supervisor #10, male)

To work independent of location only applied for supervisors in appropriate sectors, which results in an elevated compatibility with other activities. Other individual arrangements referred to the reduced number of working hours for supervisor’s relief or a (desired) permanent availability of the supervisor (also during vacation), in order to support employees in their decisions.

Category social relations Working atmosphere

Mainly, supervisors mentioned a good working atmosphere in the social firm. Factors like fun among colleagues, a young team of supervisors, affectionate, harmonious and collegial interactions in the team, diversity, a good contact between supervisors and employees despite diverse emotions, employees looking out for each other and private activities among employees contributed to this resource.

“So positive is actually working with the, with the employees for me. And that from the very beginning. (...) I've been working with some of the people for (...) years. I haven't left, and they're all staying here. We are an incredibly large team and a close-knit team. We also do a lot of private things. (…) Well not me, but the people among themselves. So that's why it's just very, so there is no aggr/ in every kitchen, for example, there is very much, very aggressiveness, very much aggressiveness. Not at all in our kitchen. (…) So of course everyone has to work hard. (…). But it's just a very, very quiet, very peaceful, peaceful atmosphere and, and that's just very pleasant.” (Supervisor #16, male)

Overall, supervisors described that employees liked to come to work (and were grateful to be allowed to work), as well as supervisors themselves.

Social support of colleagues

Beside a good working atmosphere, supervisors reported high levels of social support in the social firm, when asking colleagues for help, e.g. when many employees are on vacation or for customer-related demands. A close exchange among colleagues, who learn from each other was described as well as colleagues who watch out for each other (e.g. concerning breaks). Likewise, supervisors mentioned support for administrative tasks, support from freelancers or for difficult conversations:

“So, for example, if I have a difficult conversation with an employee, (…) and I don't want to have that conversation, then I go to (name of the colleague) and say, you talk to him, I need a buffer, I don't want to talk to him directly, because I work with him every day, could you do that please.” (Supervisor #4, female)

A prerequisite for successful support of the supervisor was mentioned to be compatible personnel who is able to deal with employees with disabilities and their needs.

Social support of the management

Supervisors experienced social support from management, for instance for communication-related demands in case of problems, inquiries or needs, for administrative tasks, or for pedagogical-related demands (due to qualification of the management), e.g. when dealing with aggressive employees.

“From the management there is always a lot of appreciation and communication and also offers of help, if something is stressful or something went badly or went well, there is always positive feedback and exchange is always offered, so you have the feeling that you always find open ears with your problems or not problems but requests, needs.” (Supervisor #13, female)

Pedagogical support

Partly, pedagogical support was offered e.g. by trained colleagues or specialists for work and career promotion of sheltered workshop employees, by social education workers or by trainees for guiding the team.

“We have one, one FABler [specialist for work and career promotion], so to speak, who is our, our contact person when there are difficult issues with, with the people.” (Supervisor #10, male)

More detailed, materials and tips for team meetings, such as motivation cards, barometers or meetings in standing position were provided by social education workers for individual supervisors.

Appreciation

Appreciation for their work with colleagues or the final product, either from their employees, from the management (even though it took some time for individual supervisors to experience appreciation of the management), from the board or shareholders, as well as from supervisors themselves was stated.

“Yes, I am very satisfied, I feel or experience appreciation here every day which I find absolutely pleasant (...) One thing is simply the togetherness, that everyone here is helpful, regardless of whether it is from the target group or not. There is always a lot of appreciation from the management.” (Supervisor #13, female)

In case feedback for their work was not provided, it was actively requested from individual supervisors.

Customer satisfaction

Furthermore, supervisors in social firms highlighted customer satisfaction as a resource, including nice guests and quick feedback on their work as applied especially for the gastronomy sector.

“The direct guest contact, I also find very well, that you actually get feedback for what you do (…) that you can assess the results very quickly, that doesn’t apply for many other professions.” (Supervisor #5, male)

Company outings

Company outings in social firms were added as a resource for team building, including e.g. going out to eat or to the cinema, forest tours, cooking, barbecue or game parks.

“We also had regular get-togethers with everyone. So sometimes we spontaneously brought out the grill and then we had a barbecue. And even if it's only for an hour (...) and of course it's not organised by one person, but by everyone.” (Supervisor #16, male)

Provision of a social psychiatric service

The provision of a social psychiatric service for employees and family members was also described as a job resource by supervisors.

"What I also find quite well is that we have a social psychiatric service that we can turn to, I think, which is always free of charge.” (Supervisor #7, female)

Category work environment

Considering the results of the interviews with supervisors the provision of an ergonomic work environment was displayed as a job resource, including ergonomic office chairs, hand mats, suitable screen height, extra screens, height adjustable desks, work equipment for lifting or an alternation between sitting and standing activities.

"Here in the office, everything is done to ensure that we have a good workplace, that we have the right chairs, that we have such mats where the hand is supported (…) or that the screen is at the right height or that it is ergonomic, the workstation, so a lot is done for that, we just have to open our mouths when we need something, (…) for example, I also have a height-adjustable desk, I can also stand up, so actually quite a lot is done to ensure that we are healthy and stay healthy.”(Supervisor #4, female)

In addition, spacious work environments, green space for walks during breaks or a clear allocation of the premises were mentioned as well. For smaller social firms, the use of work equipment from the parent company also played a role in this context.

Category personal resources

Patience and being calm when working with employees with disabilities was stated as a personal resource. This applied to situations where things often had to be explained, questions were asked quite often or when work tasks in progress had to wait for some time. Nevertheless, supervisors tried not to show internal tension to the outside, kept a level of objectivity or tried to withdraw for some time. Overall, individual supervisors added that they had become calmer in the course of time compared to former self-employment.

“But I’m a very patient person, and then my colleagues always say, ‘You've already explained this to him five times and you're still so calm’- ‘yes, but I know where I work.’ ” (Supervisor #4, female)

“Well, I'm just not a person who quickly degenerates into stress, I say, if something arouses, I try to settle everything calmly, even if it sometimes looks different inside me, but outwardly I try not to transfer.” (Supervisor #7, female)

Other personal resources of supervisors in social firm consisted of empathy in dealing with employees, e.g. due to own experiences with a mental health conditions, optimism or relaxation about own perfectionism:

“I've never done any major pedagogical training (…). But I would describe myself as quite an empathetic person, and that naturally works to my advantage. So you can deal with the people quite well.” (Supervisor #11, male)

“If you work outside in the general labour market, then everything must look just the same as the other and I always say, if that is the case that it is 70 percent of what you want to have, or 50 percent, then it is still good, right, so we do not have to give 100 percent, so we know where we are and the guests also know where they go to eat, right.” (Supervisor #4, female)