Swimming against the tide? Street-level bureaucrats and the limits to inclusive active labour market programmes in the UK
研究英国一项试点计划中，街头官僚（如顾问和就业教练）在推动包容性劳动力市场激活时面临的限制，发现个性化服务与快速就业的冲突导致他们回归传统低薪就业干预。
Through a dynamic analysis of the interplay between structure and agency, this article explores the factors shaping an inclusive approach to labour market activation for clients who experience multiple barriers to work. While previous studies argue that ‘street-level bureaucrats’ (SLBs), such as advisers and job coaches, have minimal agency to shape the services they deliver, the pilot programme that is the focus of this article allowed SLBs greater discretion to support clients and to use their entrepreneurial skills to build relationships with local employers. However, the unresolved tension between personalisation and swift labour market insertion meant that SLBs often reverted to engrained employability interventions that simply prepare clients to compete for low-wage entry-level jobs. We argue that the ‘policy closure’ around a work-first model of activation in the UK constrains social innovation among SLBs, and limits the freedoms of citizens to navigate their own transitions into paid work.