Assessing the policy assumptions and lived realities of welfare-to-work transitions
Greg Marston and Catherine McDonald
The University of Queensland, RMIT University
Contact Email: g.marston
uq.edu.au
A key thrust of contemporary labour market policy in Australia and other English speaking countries is that long-term unemployed people lack the personal motivation and moral disposition to engage proactively and successfully in the search for paid employment. The emphasis on changing the motivation and morals of unemployed people is consistent with the individualisation of unemployment in Australia and the consequent imbalance between demand and supply side policies. In this paper we argue that the implementation of paternal and punitive welfare-to-work programs can be counter-productive to achieving the policy goal of making a successful transition from unemployment to secure paid employment. In the final part of the paper we suggest alternative principles and strategies that are consistent with a ‘life-first’, rather than a ‘work-first’ approach to improving social and economic well-being for long-term unemployed people. The discussion presented in the paper is based on preliminary findings from a semi-longitudinal study that has tracked 75 long-term unemployed people in three different labour markets in Australia since 2005. The study was funded by the Australian Research Council and Jobs Australia.
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