The frontline delivery of activation: workers’ preferences and their antecedents

Figures & data

Table 1. Job design and educational background.

	Percentage of respondents
Job design: nature of tasks
Activation only (traditional model)	69
Activation plus benefit administration (integrated model)	31
Job design: client group
Remote from the labour market	28
Very remote from the labour market	23
Mixed client group	49
Educational background: level of education
Higher education (university or higher professional education)	83
Other (i.e. lower) level	17
Educational background: nature of education
Social work	22
Social administration	15
Personnel and Labour	23
Other	40

Table 2. Workers’ preferences (means and standard deviation) and their correlation with current work characteristics.

Workers’ preferences	M	SD	Correlation current work characteristics
Servicing and treatment of clients (1 = not at all preferred, 5 = strongly preferred)
Monitoring clients focuses on compliance with obligations	2.87	0.851	.333**
Action plans focus on rights/obligations	2.31	0.851	.336**
In decisions on sanctioning clients the impact of sanctions on clients’ activation is decisive	3.54	0.931	.431**
Equal treatment is more important than personalized service provision	2.35	0.870	.302**
Evidence on the effectiveness of interventions plays an important role in decision-making	3.45	0.827	.261**
Implementing rules correctly is more important than achieving results	2.15	0.825	.444**
Objective: Implementing rules and regulations meticulously	2.04	1.55	n/a
Objective: providing clients the services they need	3.23	1.35	n/a
Objective: promoting clients’ sustainable participation	2.87	1.30	n/a
Objective: promoting clients’ benefit independence	3.37	1.49	n/a
Managing frontline work (1 = not at all preferred, 5 = strongly preferred)
Sufficient room for decision-making	4.14	0.680	.086
Services are less subject to regulation	3.32	0.901	.240**
Client contacts are prioritized, even when that goes at the expense of administrative tasks	3.80	0.784	.168*
In difficult situations I consult supervisor rather than peers	2.12	0.809	.286**
My supervisor and I enter into a performance agreement	3.40	0.929	.233**
Distribution of working time
Proportion of working time spent on client contact	45%	15.03	.473**
Proportion of working time spent on contacts with colleagues/supervisors	13%	6.04	.459**
Proportion of working time spent on external contacts	24%	7.90	.642**
Proportion of working time spent on administrative tasks	14%	9.27	.645**

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

Table 3. Workers’ preferences and their antecedents (standardized regression coefficients (β); only significant effects are displayed).

Workers’ preferences	Job design			Educational background
	Client group		Tasks	Type of education			Level of education
	Very remote	Remote	Activation only	Social work	Social admin	P&L	Low
Servicing/treatment of clients (1 = not at all preferred, 5 = strongly preferred)
Monitoring clients focuses on compliance with obligations
Action plans focus on rights/obligations					−.173*
In decisions on sanctioning clients the impact of sanctions on clients’ activation is decisive
Equal treatment is more important than personalized service provision				.187*
Evidence on the effectiveness of interventions plays an important role in decision-making
Implementing rules correctly is more important than achieving results			.281**	.191*		.199*	.158*
Objective: implementing rules and regulations meticulously			.305**
Objective: providing clients the services they need
Objective: promoting clients’ sustainable participation			−.217**
Objective: promoting clients’ benefit independence	.247**					−.269**
Managing frontline work (1 = not at all preferred, 5 = strongly preferred)
Sufficient room for decision-making			−.188*
Services are less subject to regulation				−.267**
Client contacts are prioritized, even when that goes at the expense of administrative tasks			−.214**
In difficult situations I consult supervisor rather than peers			−.153*
My supervisor and I enter into a performance agreement						−.178*
Distribution of working time
Proportion of working time spent on client contact			−.293**	−.166*
Proportion of working time spent on contacts with colleagues/supervisors
Proportion of working time spent on external contacts
Proportion of working time spent on administrative tasks			.272**

*p < .05.

**p < .01.