Formalist, Specialist, Pragmatist or Idealist : Approaches to Boundary Spanning in Personal Social Services

The social services generally operate in the very centre of welfare systems marked by organisational specialisation. However, a downside to high levels of specialisation is the risk of service fragmentation, which may particularly affect clients with complex needs. In this context, work over organisational boundaries—boundary spanning—is a crucial challenge for staff when performing their duties for the benefit of both organisation and clients. The aim of this article is to describe and analyse approaches to boundary spanning in the daily work of Swedish personal social services staff, paying particular attention to the often overlooked informal dimensions of work. Findings from a non-participation observation study and a group interview study are presented. Four approaches to boundary spanning are identified and conceptualised: the ‘formalist’, ‘specialist’, ‘pragmatist’ and ‘idealist’ approaches. The article concludes with a discussion of influence of these approaches—and particularly dimensions of informal organisation—on future challenges for a specialised welfare sector