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One of the main pillars of the German social security system, the Federal Labour Agency has undergone the most extensive reorganization of a public sector organisation in Germany in recent years. The contribution describes the main principles of this management-driven reform process and its conseguences for the service quality in the local job centres. It leads to the conclusion that a gain of efficiency in labour administration faces problems of exclusion for specific groups of job seekers from measures of active labour market policy.

An increasing number of people do shift work, including night shifts. These shifts structure their daily and private lives and, in turn, affect their social lives. Companies, on the other hand, are faced with the questions of how they can maintain their shift workers’ ability to work in the long term and how they can organise productive shift work with ageing employees. Case studies from a variety of sectors reveal that shift work does not necessarily equate to shift work and that shift workers’ ability to work develops differently. Some remain healthy and contented doing shift work until they retire, while others find the work is detrimental to their health and quality of life. As companies’ options for relieving staff of shift work for health reasons are limited, they are continually looking for innovative ways in which they can sustain their employees’ ability and motivation to do shift work in the long term.