‘I do not want to be one of her favourites’. Emotional display and the co-production of frontline care services

Figures & data

Figure 1. A continuum of emotional display rules.

Table 1. Summary of the fieldwork.

Case 1	Case 2
May-October 2017
About 30 hours of fieldwork at the supported housing 8,811 words of field notes and 25 pictures. 1 video clip and 2 audio recordings	About 30 hours of fieldwork at the supported housing 10,758 words of field notes and 41 pictures. 2 audio recordings
November 2017-September 2018
	14 hours of fieldwork at the supported housing and 11 hours of fieldwork taking part in educational activities and internal seminars for the frontline staff 3,089 words of field notes and 14 pictures. Detailed notes or audio-recorded
3 focus group interviews with the frontline agency (with 5–6 participants) (11 hours in total) (Audio recorded and documented through pictures)	3 focus group interviews with the frontline agency (with 6 participants) (9 hours in total) (Audio recorded and documented through pictures)
July 2018-February 2019
1 focus group with the frontline agency (with 4 participants)(1 hour) (audio-recorded)	1 focus group with the frontline agency (with 5 participants)(1.5 hour) (audio-recorded)
1-hour follow-up meeting with managers	4 hours of follow-up meetings with managers
3.5 hours of fieldwork at the supported housing

Table 2. Child nodes and examples within the two parent nodes: Informal and personalized relationships and Formal and depersonalized relationships.

Informal and personalized relationships
Node name	Examples from observation and focus groups
Staff emphasize closeness and personalized relations to the service users as the foundation for their work	A. Staff emphasizing that there is a need for trust and reliance between staff and users B. Staff stating that it is essential for their work that the users feel secure and comfortable with them C. Staff highlighting confidentiality and familiarity as crucial elements of the staff-user relationship
Staff emphasize that they need to care and create safety for the users	A. Staff defining their job as guiding and caring for the service users B. Staff stating that it is their role to protect the service users from society and help them communicate with public actors and society in general C. Staff saying that the service users depend on them and need them to have a functional everyday life. Defining themselves as the ‘scaffolding’ in the service users’ lives and labelling themselves the as the users’ ‘lifeline’
Warm and friendly communication between service users and staff	A. Staff and service users teasing each other B. Staff and service users joking around C. Service users calling staff sweetie, ‘mom’, or other related terms
Physical contact between service users and staff	A. Service users hugging staff B. Service users asking staff for nuzzling
Staff comforting service users	A. Staff reassuring and calming service users
Cozy times between staff and service users	A. Drinking tea and coffee together B. Playing ball or board games together C. Watching TV together D. Watching videos on a service users phone E. Eating dinner together F. Going on walks and swimming together
Service users preferring the company of staff compared to other users	A. Service users choosing to be around the staff, rather than the other users
Structures and routines allowing staff and service users to have one-on-one time	A. Staff doing activities alone with service users (instead of in groups) e.g. going to the store, going on walks or swimming
Formal and depersonalized relationships
Node name	Examples from observation and focus groups
Staff emphasize boundaries and professional relation to service users	A. Staff did not want service users to differentiate between staff e.g. having a favourite staff member B. Staff seeing it as their task to teach service users that there is a difference between friends and them as staff – and that they are not their friends C. Staff believing it is inappropriate to have emotional involvement between service users and staff
Separation of cozy times (service users) and practical tasks (staff)	A. Staff doing practical tasks (e.g. cooking), while service users watch TV together, drinking tea or coffee etc. B. Staff choosing not to include or ask service users to help with practical tasks that they are doing C. Staff setting up and/or encouraging service users to do activities together or socialize without participating themselves
Formal and depersonalized relationships
Node name	Examples from observation and focus groups
Minimal interaction between staff and service users	A. Little or no communication between staff and service users during activities e.g. preparing food or lunch packet B. Staff not prioritizing spending time with service users e.g. choosing to do other tasks or talking to staff (rather than service users) about non-work-related topics C. Service users retreating from common areas and social situations (staff also might encourage them to do so) e.g. going to their apartment to watch TV, listen to music or eat dinner
Structures and routines fostering little one-on-one time between service user and staff	A. Little or no one-on-one time between staff, e.g. not driving in a car with a service user, taking the service users shopping in groups rather than individually B. Deliveries of pre-cooked meals for service users, which means that the service users and staff did not cook or eat dinner together C. New initiatives relying on volunteers (rather than staff) to do activities with service users e.g. go swimming or to concerts