(Re)defining care workers as knowledge workers

Citation

Nishikawa, M. (2011), "(Re)defining care workers as knowledge workers", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2011.04419daa.006

(Re)defining care workers as knowledge workers

Article Type: Abstracts From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 19, Issue 4

Nishikawa M.Gender, Work and Organization (UK), January 2011 Vol. 18 No. 1, Start page: 113, No. of pages: 24

Care workers are knowledge workers in the sense that their knowledge and skills substantially influence the quality of care. However, the types of knowledge needed by care workers and the ways they expand their knowledge are different from those suggested for typical knowledge workers, who basically acquire and update theoretical knowledge through formal education and training. Using a survey data of Japanese home care workers, this article demonstrates that the quality of care depends on the contexts shared between care workers and their clients, and therefore for care workers to provide effective care, understanding and constructing the appropriate contexts for care in relation with various clients is necessary and primary. It was found that knowledge needed in understanding and constructing the appropriate contexts for care is leant more effectively through collective work, dialogue and reflection with fellow workers than through formal education and training.ISSN: 0968-6673Reference: 40AE121

Keywords: Care quality, Skills for care, Care services, Elderly care