Drawing on ethnographic research in a homeless shelter, this article examines how caseworkers navigate an occupation that is often physically and morally trying, and at times, objectionable. Given this context, we examine the ways in which caseworkers identify and define “dirty work,” often seen as a source of occupational degradation, according to two main typifications: the physical and the moral. Building on Erving Goffman's frame analysis, we examine the definitional and interactional strategies actors use to transform unpleasant first-order realities to more valued, meaningful, or workable second order realities, by keying particular frames of meaning. These involve framing dirty work through (1) a professional lens, (2) humanism and egalitarianism, (3) a negotiated interpretation of institutional rules, and (4) the use of humor. We conclude by reflecting on the constructed nature of dirty work, and the importance of framing strategies in the sociology of occupations, suggesting that a more generic application of these ideas may be useful across a number of other social contexts.

中文翻译：

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重塑“肮脏的工作”：无家可归的避难所工人的案例

本文利用在一个无家可归者收容所中的人种学研究方法，研究了案例工作者如何驾驭经常在肉体和道义上有时甚至是令人反感的职业。在这种情况下，我们根据两种主要的类型：身体和道德，研究了案例工作者识别和定义“脏活”的方式，“脏活”通常被视为职业退化的根源。在Erving Goffman的框架分析的基础上，我们研究了演员通过定义特定的意义框架来将不愉快的一阶现实转化为更有价值，有意义或可行的二阶现实的定义和交互策略。其中包括通过（1）专业的视角，（2）人文主义和平均主义，（3）对制度规则的协商解释以及（4）幽默的使用来组织肮脏的工作。