Withdrawal from the public employment service by young unemployed: a matter of non-take-up or of non-compliance? How nonprofit social work initiatives may inspire public services

This paper proposes a re-conceptualization and a measurement instrument for street-level workers' interaction styles. Interaction styles are a relevant lens giving insight into how discretion is used and how street-level behaviour affects clients' motivation and engagement. The re-conceptualization builds on a revision of May and Winter's interaction style concept from the perspective of the psychological self-determination theory. Data from 349 caseworkers of the Flemish employment service were collected via an online survey and analysed with factor and latent class analysis. Findings support a four-dimensional interaction style concept and reveal seven types of caseworkers along these dimensions.

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