Public governance - constraints and challenges for social work practice

In the wake of public sector reforms, the work environment of professionals is changing. Management tools and managerial power have increased; there is more prescription of results and outputs and tighter requirements of... [ view full abstract ]

In the wake of public sector reforms, the work environment of professionals is changing. Management tools and managerial power have increased; there is more prescription of results and outputs and tighter requirements of front line work. The changes taking place are characterised as a shift in ideology towards new forms of governance and organisational control. This paper investigates the impact of bureaucratic control and new public management strategies on social work practice within the structural frames of the Norwegian welfare administration. A main concern is to investigate the influence of public governance rules and directives, performance measurements and defined targets compared to the professional norms of social workers. The empirical data come from a survey conducted among social service workers (N=627) in the Norwegian labour and welfare administration in 2011. While bureaucratic rules and agency procedures set constraints for social work practice, the impact of politically defined goals and performance measures is statistically non-significant. However, collegial support and peer advices seem to play a significant role in providing professional standards for discretionary judgements and decision-making. Finally, the paper discusses some of the implications and challenges for professional knowledge and social work practice.