Social workers as state and citizen-agents. How social workers in a German, Dutch and Flemish public welfare organisation manage this dual responsibility in practice

Abstract

Summary Professional standards state that social workers in public welfare organisations should act as state and citizen-agents. However, the literature provides little insight into how social workers navigate this dual responsibility in their daily work. To address this gap, we used Maynard-Moody and Musheno’s theory on state and citizens-agent narratives to analyse street-level practices of social workers in three local welfare organisations in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. This article explores how three specific organisational mechanisms (decision-making authority; the role of the front-line manager and the degree of specialisation) affect the ways social workers navigate both agent narratives in public welfare organisations. The data were gathered by a mixed method design of in-depth interviews and focus groups. Findings Our study shows that social workers struggle with the tensions that intrude between the state and citizen-agent narrative. We found that the extent to which both narratives are adopted by social workers is affected by a complicated interaction between the beliefs of social workers about social justice and responsiveness and the selected organisational mechanisms. Moreover, we found that critical reflection and a supportive attitude of front-line managers can help social workers to manage their double responsibility in practice. Application Our cross-national study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between organisational mechanisms and the moral deliberations of social workers regarding their dual responsibility. It provides in-depth insights into the tensions and conflicts social workers in different contexts face daily on account of their dual responsibility.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Examining the dynamics of pro-social rule-breaking among grassroots public servants

“…Their interactions with clients range from short-term to longer-term relations, which increases the likelihood that they will strive to satisfy clients' needs even if they violate formal procedures (Charbonneau et al 2023;Ellis, 2011). Moreover, it is important to note that public sector welfare organization employees are largely motivated to help others and promote public welfare (Morrison, 2006;Tier et al 2022). This pro-social…”

The changing roles of frontline bureaucrats in the digital welfare state: The case of a data dashboard in Rotterdam’s Work and Income department

“…By using their discretionary space, they can balance demands from both the lifeworld and system world. Role conflict seems embedded in the position of frontline bureaucrats, who, as the “frontline” metaphor suggests function as liaisons between large (public sector) organizations and citizens (Habermas, 1984, 1987; Maynard-Moody and Musheno, 2000; Schell-Kiehl and Slots, 2014; Zacka, 2017; Movisie, 2019; Veldboer, 2019; Tier et al, 2021). In addition, role conflict can also emerge when expectations are incomplete or insufficient to guide behavior or when there is incongruence between expectations and personal characteristics (Biddle, 1986, p. 83; Jarrahi et al, 2021; Mascini and Doornbos, 2021).…”