Activation or discouragement—the effect of enforced participation on the success of job-search training Aktivointi vai lannistaminen—Työnhakuryhmään velvoittamisen vaikutukset This article has been published in the doctoral dissertation: Malmberg-Heimonen, I. (2005) Public welfare policies and private responses: Studies of European labour market policies in transition, Finnish Institute of occupational Health, People and Work, Research Reports 68.

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a shift in labour market policies towards enforcing unemployed workers' participation in labour market programmes by means of financial sanctions. Requirements of activation and financial sanctions have changed the nature of social work and generated a conflict between client needs and policy requirements. The aim of this study is to investigate whether and how enforced participation modifies the impact of job-search training on re-employment and mental health. A total of 627 unemployed persons participated in this six-month follow-up study with a control group. In particular, those unemployed workers who were not able to meet the goal of the enforced initiatives by gaining employment are at risk of adverse mental health effects or even of discouragement on the labour market. The results of the follow-up study show that enforced participation did not increase re-employment; however it impaired the positive mental health impacts of the programme. Further analyses demonstrate that enforced participation in job-search training decreased re-employment among the longer-term unemployed workers. It is important that social workers acknowledge the risks that are involved with the enforcement for the more vulnerable groups of unemployed workers.