Impact of Workfare on Employers

Employers that employ workfare participants are a group that is very directly impacted by the workfare policy. There are plenty of features of the policy of workfare that generate stigma from all individuals involved in the carrying out of workfare. Not only does stigma exist around being a social assistance recipient, stigma also exists around being an employer that provides work for these individuals, as well as stigma around the quality of work that these individuals are capable of producing. Although some research has shown that some social assistance recipients may in fact embody the stereotypical role of the social assistance recipient, many sources turn a blind eye to the recipients who are actually hard workers and respect their work, employers, and the opportunity provided for them. Regardless, employers have faced difficulty in ignoring the stereotype of a typical social assistance recipient and the stigma carries on.

Employers that employ workfare participants have faced feelings of worry, doubt, and frustration in relation to their workfare workers. Deborah C. Washam, president and chief executive of a community home health care agency in Kansas City claims that, of more than eighty women she hired as part of a generous welfare-to-work program, fewer than twenty five remained on the job; many of the others apparently quit over perceived slights to their dignity: "I don't think they've had much exposure to structure in their lives....As single mothers, they are on their own and see themselves as authority figures. They won't take routine supervision at work." Apparently, many among those hired, although the best qualified of those screened, had problems including absenteeism, lack of discipline about work hours, poor reading and communicative skills, and open resentment when given direction. (New York Times, 1 Sept, 1996). This example clearly shows the doubt and frustration that one employer has experienced with her workfare participants. The stigma around workfare participants’ quality of work has perpetuated so much that employers often fail to truly examine the root causes of their difficulties. In this example, Washam neglected to look at the causes of workers’ absenteeism and other issues. It could be that personal issues such as child care, health, or transportation issues compromised their performance.

Employers benefit from workfare in that they are provided with cheap labour, but then they complain about the quality of this labour. What are ways in which to improve the quality of labour? Firstly, proper training and preparation would enable workfare recipients to learn, practice, and apply skills in the workplace that would produce a higher quality of work. This could potentially lead them to seek and find job opportunities in the future, and would leave them better off because they would be skilled. Secondly, providing workfare participants with the same benefits as other regular workers (such as the observance of statutory holidays and the freedom to start and/or join a union) could alleviate feelings of stress and frustration that workfare participants experience, therefore leading to higher quality of work. Third, paying a decent wage and maintaining motivation by providing incentives to work (such as bonuses) would encourage workers. This list could go on and on, but in the interest of space-saving, it will end here. The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of measures that could be taken in order to improve the quality of work that workfare participants produce. Employers are just not willing to put these measures into place, and would rather place the blame solely on workers. It is not enough that they are getting labour at the cheapest rate possible; they expect a better quality of work than is realistically possible under the terms of workfare. Taking the workers into consideration, working to improve their work conditions, and being understanding of their usually difficult circumstances are things that employers of workfare participants need to do in order to receive a quality of work that they will be satisfied with.

Relating to the previous paragraph, workfare participants are often treated differently than other regular workers are. Employers seem to be conflicted; they expect little from workfare participants because of the negative image they have of these workers, and yet they simultaneously expect very much from workfare participants, as is evident from their strong reactions to workers’ extenuating circumstances (such as child care issues which cause them to miss a day or work or to be late). Adopting a more consistent attitude towards workfare participants would create a better working environment and would likely promote better worker attitudes as well. Adopting a more humane and understanding attitude would surely promote better worker attitudes. Employers play a large role in the lack of success of workfare in Canada. The oppression that workfare participants experience by employers, which includes lesser rights, menial labour that does not properly train them and leaves them skill-less, etc. is hurtful to workers, employers, and workfare itself. It’s no wonder workfare hasn’t worked in Canada; a lot of things are lacking that could perhaps improve the success rate of workfare.