This paper analyzes how public servants who work with young people discursively cope with competing demands on their agency, defined as their orientation toward and capabilities to influence their clients. Previous studies revealed how public servants treat their clients when facing competing demands but paid less attention to how public servants define their agency.,Micro-level discourse analysis is applied to analyze how public servants represent their agency in client relationships, drawing on interviews with nine individuals in a Finnish city who work with young people lacking jobs or school placements.,Instead of describing their agency coherently, the interviewees applied several discourses to represent their agency differently in relation to different demands. This ability to navigate contradictory discourses is discussed as reflexive discursive coping strategy, which enables public servants to maintain a positive image of their agency despite tensions at work.,Although the method does not allow direct generalizations, it reveals discursive strategies likely to be found in many contemporary public organizations.,The study indicates a need to better acknowledge and nurture the multifaceted nature of agency to improve service quality.,The findings deepen the view on tensions in public servants' work and show that diverse discourses not only create anxiety but also help individuals dealing with contradictory work.

中文翻译：

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公务员应对客户关系中对其代理机构的竞争要求

本文分析了与年轻人打交道的公务员如何以话语方式应对其代理机构的竞争性需求，这被定义为他们面向客户的方向和影响客户的能力。先前的研究揭示了公务员在面对竞争需求时如何对待客户，但对公务员如何定义其代理机构却较少关注。微观层面的话语分析被用于分析公务员在客户关系中如何代表其代理机构，方法是对九个人进行访谈芬兰城市中与缺乏工作或学校安置的年轻人打交道的人。受访者并没有连贯地描述他们的代理机构，而是根据不同的需求运用了几种话语来代表他们的代理机构。