Caseworker-client relationships in the German public employment service: Coercion, persuasion and the role of trust

Following Michael Lipsky’s well-known argument that policy is made in the daily encounters between street-level bureaucracy and citizens, a growing body of research emphasizes that actors and organizations delivering social... [ view full abstract ]

Following Michael Lipsky’s well-known argument that policy is made in the daily encounters between street-level bureaucracy and citizens, a growing body of research emphasizes that actors and organizations delivering social and labour-market policy play a crucial role in welfare-state politics. Building on the theoretical perspective of street-level bureaucracy, the paper examines how caseworkers in German local employment agencies define their roles and how they interpret their relations with clients. Using qualitative data (interviews and group discussions) collected at three local employment agencies in Germany, the analysis seeks to reveal which priorities caseworkers set and what resources they develop in the process of delivering social and labour market policy. 

The findings show that in the context of activation policies, it is essential for caseworkers to achieve client compliance. In such a context, building relationships of trust is a strategic instrument in overcoming possible barriers to cooperation in caseworker-client interactions. Caseworkers develop strategies to create the impression of trustworthiness and to motivate both unemployed clients and employers to become trust-givers in the caseworker-client relation. While previous research has often focused on the coercive elements of activation policies, the paper shows that strategies relying on persuasion and trust-building are a further important resource in the frontline delivery of activation policies.