Globalization of Public Service

Restructuring processes in Europe in a work environment perspective

Abstract

This article examines the development of public service work in Europe from a globalization perspective by focusing on restructuring of the value chain. The article takes its point of departure in theories of globalization inspired by Zygmunt Bauman conceptualizing globalization as growing interconnectedness between supranational social processes and local issues and conditions. Bauman furthermore suggests that the growing consciousness about such supranational processes in itself influences local conditions and that such a global consciousness is therefore also a significant dimension of globalization. The article combines this globalization perspective with more specific theories on changing working conditions, in particular increased customer orientation (Korczynski 2001) in an empirical analysis about the consequences of globalization for working conditions in public service work. The empirical analysis is based on qualitative case studies from a large EU funded research project WORKS (Work Organization and Restructuring in the Knowledge Society). The case studies analyze implications of globalization for employment- and working conditions by focusing on ‘restructuring of the value chain’. The cases studies examine different types of restructuring such as outsourcing, internal externalization (setting up new specialized units inhouse) and the development of public/private partnerships. In the article we focus on front office workers in customer service (information service to citizens) but examples from other public services such as railways, postal services and public housing are also included. The article shows important cross-national characteristics in the development of public non-profit services across Europe, suggesting that value chains have become longer and work more fragmented by the establishment of a number of specialized units, public and/or private. Furthermore, the article concludes that restructuring generally seems to have a negative impact on working life and working conditions for front office workers who experience less secure employment conditions, a higher degree of standardization and surveillance, and increased work demands in terms of time pressure and work load. There are some variation across cases, but working conditions in the problematic units tend to ‘spill over’ to other units as well. Finally, restructuring makes it more difficult to govern work environment. The value chain becomes more complex and more difficult to coordinate as each unit increasingly orient itself towards its ‘own sale’ rather than towards the provision of ‘common service’.