The increasing use of electronic government comes with great expectations of efficient service provision. However, frontline workers who use the information and communication technologies (ICTs) and implement digital services have received less attention. This article examines how frontline workers in the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration (NAV)¹ perceive electronic communication with clients in terms of its efficiency. The empirical data consist of interviews with frontline workers in NAV, who argue both for and against the efficiency of electronic communication. The frontline workers find that electronic communication saves them time, but also makes them more available to clients. While it is desirable that services are available, this can also reduce the cost to clients of seeking services. Based on a street-level perspective, I argue that the availability of services through electronic communication can spur a demand for services. This implies that there is a potential resource trade-off between efficient services and available services.

电子政务的使用越来越多，人们对有效提供服务寄予厚望。但是，使用信息和通信技术（ICT）并实施数字服务的一线工人受到的关注较少。本文研究了挪威劳工和福利管理局（NAV）^1的一线工人在效率方面感知与客户的电子通信。经验数据包括对NAV前线工人的采访，他们对电子通信的效率表示赞成和反对。前线工作人员发现，电子通信可以节省他们的时间，但也可以使客户更方便地使用它们。尽管期望服务是可用的，但是这也可以减少客户寻求服务的成本。基于街头的观点，我认为通过电子通信提供服务可以刺激对服务的需求。这意味着在高效服务和可用服务之间存在潜在的资源权衡。