Reinventing the Division of Labour? How Organisational and Micro-Level Factors Influence Work in Local Public Welfare Organisations

Many professions in the public sector, such as healthcare staff, social welfare officers and teachers are experiencing a heavier workload and an increasing number of work tasks of growing complexity. This study examines the policy tendency to introduce a stricter division of labour, by delegating lo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of Organizational Sociology Vol. 1; no. 2; pp. 199 - 221
Main Author:	Castillo, Daniel
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	De Gruyter 01.09.2023
Subjects:	division of labour labour market organisation Politics, Economy and the Organization of Society Politik, ekonomi och samhällets organisering profession workplace relations
ISSN:	2752-2997, 2752-2997
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Many professions in the public sector, such as healthcare staff, social welfare officers and teachers are experiencing a heavier workload and an increasing number of work tasks of growing complexity. This study examines the policy tendency to introduce a stricter division of labour, by delegating lower status tasks professionals preform to assistants, as a key to reduce public sector workload. In contrast, the public sector has been subject to organisational reforms the past 20–30 years resulting in a reduced division of labour among professions. This article explores the reversibility of the division of labour within a local public sector context, and it demonstrates how different micro-level factors may promote or counteract changes in the division of labour at the workplace. A main contribution is the prospect to rethink the capacity of organisational work-related reforms in professional settings directed at processes of division of labour in local public organisations.
ISSN:	2752-2997 2752-2997
DOI:	10.1515/joso-2022-0004