Strategic worker change: a public sector case study

Economic and labour market conditions during the mid-1970s created the climate for behavioural changes in the Commonwealth Employment Service, Australia's national public employment agency. In contradiction to traditional bureaucratic notions of impersonality, new employment officers introduced emotional expression into their interactions with clients. It is argued here that increased workloads, understaffing and associated limited opportunities for training prompted the use of emotions by workers as a strategic response to their employment conditions. While at variance with the organizational culture at the time, this worker-initiated change provided benefits to both the organization and employees. Copyright (C) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.