ABSTRACT

Whilst post-GFC austerity state retrenchment is widely studied, there is little research which focuses on the experiences of those who work at the front-line of austere public services. Drawing on qualitative evidence with front-line workers in four UK local authorities significantly impacted by austerity, this paper explores ‘coping mechanisms’ developed by workers to manage resource restriction. It argues that existing conceptualisations of coping mechanisms, such as either resistance or adaptation, are insufficient to understand how workers manage contemporary austerity. This paper proposes an additional mechanism – absorption – and explores analytically how workers cope with austerity in terms of resistance, adaptation and absorption. The paper concludes that front-line local government workers are coping with austerity cuts, in large part, by acting as ‘shock absorbers’ of state retrenchment.

摘要

虽然全球金融危机后紧缩状态的紧缩得到广泛研究，但很少有研究关注那些在紧缩公共服务第一线工作的人的经历。本文利用受紧缩政策严重影响的四个英国地方当局的一线工人的定性证据，探讨了工人为管理资源限制而制定的“应对机制”。它认为现有的应对机制概念化，例如抵抗或适应，不足以理解工人如何管理当代紧缩政策。本文提出了一种额外的机制——吸收——并从抵抗、适应和吸收的角度分析了工人如何应对紧缩。该论文的结论是，一线地方政府工作人员正在应对紧缩措施，在很大程度上，