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Change in the Benefits Agency: Empowering the Exhausted Worker?

Author

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  • Deborah Foster

    (Faculty of Economics and Social Science University of the West of England Frenchay Campus Coldharbour Lane BRISTOL BS16 1QY)

  • Paul Hoggett

    (Faculty of Economics and Social Science University of the West of England Frenchay Campus Coldharbour Lane BRISTOL BS16 1QY)

Abstract

Using case study evidence from an investigation of `quality' initiatives and working practices in three offices within a District of the Benefits Agency (BA), this article examines the contradictory role of new public management on employees. Decentralised management, performance related pay, teamwork philosophies and the promotion of a `customer' culture reflect a move away from a traditional civil service bureaucratic form of organisation. However, the implementation of change within local settings has brought about variations in local management approaches, work organisation and staff perceptions. The consequences of these are explored and we consider whether the BA's attempts to empower staff have been thwarted by a progressive intensification of workloads. Our research, by illustrating the importance of variations in local settings, warns of the dangers of evaluating institutional and employment change in the public sector as if it were the result of a coherent and consistent neo-liberal re-structuring strategy. Moreover, it examines reasons why some change initiatives have been unsuccessful. Finally, we identify a recent shift in emphasis within the BA which presages a move away from service quality to economy and draw some initial conclusions about the future impact on employment in this sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Deborah Foster & Paul Hoggett, 1999. "Change in the Benefits Agency: Empowering the Exhausted Worker?," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 13(1), pages 19-39, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:13:y:1999:i:1:p:19-39
    DOI: 10.1177/09500179922117773
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stephen Hill, 1991. "Why Quality Circles Failed but Total Quality Management Might Succeed," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 29(4), pages 541-568, December.
    2. Kevin Doogan, 1997. "The Marketization of Local Services and the Fragmentation of Labour Markets," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 286-302, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. McGovern, Patrick, 2014. "Contradictions at work: a critical review," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 45188, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Dirk Lindebaum & Effi Raftopoulou, 2017. "What Would John Stuart Mill Say? A Utilitarian Perspective on Contemporary Neuroscience Debates in Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(4), pages 813-822, September.

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