Australian Workers’ Narratives about Emergency Relief and Employment Service Clients: Complex Issues, Simple Solutions

Abstract

This paper illuminates two under-investigated, and often intersecting, frontline services accessed by unemployed people. It reports on the narratives of 32 Australian service providers working in emergency relief or employment services during 2012, including perceptions of clients’ presenting issues and problems, and rationale for intervention. Workers tended to use reductionist and individualistic terms to describe complex client issues suggesting self-motivation and personal responsibility were key to gaining employment or alleviating poverty. Clients were often viewed as having the power to change their circumstances, while workers appeared unaware of their positional power and drew from dominant conservative discourse about welfarism and unemployment to fortify their compliance requirements. The findings are discussed in relation to service delivery and reform.

Keywords:

• Unemployment
• Neoliberalism
• Poverty
• Case Management
• Job Services
• Emergency Relief

Additional information

Funding

This research on Economic Insecurity, Public Governance, and Neoliberal Paternalism was funded by the University of Newcastle, Research Institutes’ Research Programmes’ Funding Scheme, 2011–12.