The puzzling reconciliation of conditionality and personalized services in employment services: how managers, frontline workers, and claimants strive to solve a Gordian knot

Whereas welfare conditionality once was targeted mostly at advantaged claimants, who were expected to respond quite readily to incentives, it has gradually been expanded to more vulnerable target groups struggling with problems besides unemployment. At the same time, services are expected to be more personalized, flexible, and inclusive towards the needs of the unemployed. Street-level organizations providing employment services are therefore currently faced with a demanding challenge: How do they manage to balance conditionality on the one hand with personalized services on the other? Based on a qualitative case study of five Danish municipal job centers that has been conducted over almost eight years, we explore how this puzzling dilemma is perceived from the perspective of managers, frontline workers, and claimants.