Fabricating the motivated client: problematising the market of social work in Sweden

Abstract

This article targets the advancement of a market orientation in Swedish social work, with a specific focus on motivational work and the construction of the motivated client. Informed by a governmentality approach, the article analyses the formation of the ideal client in a market-oriented social work setting in Sweden. The empirical focus is front-line social workers and their work. The analysis is directed at the ways in which front-line social workers conceptualise the ideal client and how such a formation is made possible. The analysis contributes to problematising motivational work as something inherently good and progressive in neoliberal times, in social work practice as well as research. The main conclusions concerning the fabrication of motivated clients as part of a broader neoliberal agenda and challenges for social work are further reflected upon.