Who's to Blame? The Identity Talk of Welfare-To-Work Program Managers

Abstract

U.S. welfare policy and devolution involve contradictions in implementing financial assistance as welfare workers must attempt to place clients with severe barriers in formal employment while meeting restrictive requirements. In interviews with North Carolina welfare-to-work program managers, the authors find that they engage in identity talk to construct images of themselves as effective workers despite these contradictions, using the symbolic identities of the “middle-class achiever” and the “thwarted advocate.” Location in rural counties with fewer resources leads to more polarizing strategies. The authors propose that service providers who face conflicting information and excessive frustration tend toward extremes, such as blaming clients or policymakers for program failures. This analysis contributes to the social psychological literature on inequality by demonstrating that reconciling contradictions as a service provider often entails certain strategic characterizations of clientele, both positive and negative.