Making digital welfare work: conceptualizing digital compensatory work by frontline professionals
(2026) In Journal of Professions and Organization 13(3). p.1-17- Abstract
- Digital technologies in welfare organizations frequently generate gaps, ambiguities, and
misalignments that require professional intervention. Yet prior research has tended to portray
frontline workers mainly as resistant or adaptive actors, leaving under-examined their active
contributions to sustaining broader digital infrastructures. This article introduces the concept of
digital compensatory work to capture how professionals intervene when specific digital
technologies fall short of their own standards for professional service delivery. Drawing on an
exploratory literature review, we identify three forms of such compensatory work:
complementing digital technologies, rectifying their shortcomings, and... (More) - Digital technologies in welfare organizations frequently generate gaps, ambiguities, and
misalignments that require professional intervention. Yet prior research has tended to portray
frontline workers mainly as resistant or adaptive actors, leaving under-examined their active
contributions to sustaining broader digital infrastructures. This article introduces the concept of
digital compensatory work to capture how professionals intervene when specific digital
technologies fall short of their own standards for professional service delivery. Drawing on an
exploratory literature review, we identify three forms of such compensatory work:
complementing digital technologies, rectifying their shortcomings, and dismissing them when
they conflict with professional judgment. By theorizing these practices, the article expands
existing understandings of professional discretion in digital welfare services, shifting attention
from resistance and adaptation to value-driven interventions that actively uphold service quality
within digital infrastructures. In doing so, it contributes to debates on digital welfare and
highlights the essential role of professional agency in sustaining human service organizations
under conditions of digital transformation. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Digital technologies in welfare organizations frequently generate gaps, ambiguities, and misalignments that require professional intervention. Yet prior research has tended to portray frontline workers mainly as resistant or adaptive actors, leaving under-examined their active contributions to sustaining broader digital infrastructures. This article introduces the concept of digital compensatory work to capture how professionals intervene when specific digital technologies fall short of their own standards for professional service delivery. Drawing on an exploratory literature review, we identify three forms of such compensatory work: complementing digital technologies, rectifying their shortcomings, and dismissing them when they conflict... (More)
- Digital technologies in welfare organizations frequently generate gaps, ambiguities, and misalignments that require professional intervention. Yet prior research has tended to portray frontline workers mainly as resistant or adaptive actors, leaving under-examined their active contributions to sustaining broader digital infrastructures. This article introduces the concept of digital compensatory work to capture how professionals intervene when specific digital technologies fall short of their own standards for professional service delivery. Drawing on an exploratory literature review, we identify three forms of such compensatory work: complementing digital technologies, rectifying their shortcomings, and dismissing them when they conflict with professional judgment. By theorizing these practices, the article expands existing understandings of professional discretion in digital welfare services, shifting attention from resistance and adaptation to value-driven interventions that actively uphold service quality within digital infrastructures. In doing so, it contributes to debates on digital welfare and highlights the essential role of professional agency in sustaining human service organizations under conditions of digital transformation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/11656328-ae65-4235-afcd-ac0cbaab39a3
- author
- Carlsson, Julia ; Hjärpe, Teres LU and Svensson, Petra M
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-04-03
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Journal of Professions and Organization
- volume
- 13
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 17 pages
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105036528884
- ISSN
- 2051-8803
- DOI
- 10.1093/jpo/joag011
- project
- Vad professionen gör som inte datorn kan
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 11656328-ae65-4235-afcd-ac0cbaab39a3
- date added to LUP
- 2026-04-09 09:04:48
- date last changed
- 2026-07-22 04:00:45
@article{11656328-ae65-4235-afcd-ac0cbaab39a3,
abstract = {{Digital technologies in welfare organizations frequently generate gaps, ambiguities, and<br/>misalignments that require professional intervention. Yet prior research has tended to portray<br/>frontline workers mainly as resistant or adaptive actors, leaving under-examined their active<br/>contributions to sustaining broader digital infrastructures. This article introduces the concept of<br/>digital compensatory work to capture how professionals intervene when specific digital<br/>technologies fall short of their own standards for professional service delivery. Drawing on an<br/>exploratory literature review, we identify three forms of such compensatory work:<br/>complementing digital technologies, rectifying their shortcomings, and dismissing them when<br/>they conflict with professional judgment. By theorizing these practices, the article expands<br/>existing understandings of professional discretion in digital welfare services, shifting attention<br/>from resistance and adaptation to value-driven interventions that actively uphold service quality<br/>within digital infrastructures. In doing so, it contributes to debates on digital welfare and<br/>highlights the essential role of professional agency in sustaining human service organizations<br/>under conditions of digital transformation.}},
author = {{Carlsson, Julia and Hjärpe, Teres and Svensson, Petra M}},
issn = {{2051-8803}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{04}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{1--17}},
publisher = {{Oxford University Press}},
series = {{Journal of Professions and Organization}},
title = {{Making digital welfare work: conceptualizing digital compensatory work by frontline professionals}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jpo/joag011}},
doi = {{10.1093/jpo/joag011}},
volume = {{13}},
year = {{2026}},
}