Motivating the unemployed: A full-range model of motivational strategies that caseworkers use to activate clients

Jolien Grandia, Yvonne La Grouw, Peter Kruyen

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Governments use activation policies to stimulate unemployed citizens in finding work. Caseworkers are, as frontline workers, responsible for concrete activation trajectories based on these activation policies. Little is known about how caseworkers try to get clients to participate in these activation trajectories. In a qualitative, inductive study (consisting of observations and reflective interviews) in two welfare agencies, we identified 10 motivational strategies that caseworkers employed. The full-range leadership model appeared to be an appropriate perspective to understand, systematize, and reflect on these strategies, in particular as our analyses show that these motivational strategies can be placed on a continuum ranging from laissez-faire to transactional and transformational strategies. We found that caseworkers matched their motivational strategy to the situation and client but preferred transformational strategies. Our findings implicate chances but also challenges for activation in practice and literature on front-line workers.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)375-389
Number of pages15
JournalSocial Policy & Administration
Volume54
Issue number3
Early online date27 Aug 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2020

Keywords

  • activation
  • client interaction
  • front-line workers
  • leadership styles
  • motivational strategies
  • observational study

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