The role of social enterprises in a full employment policy agenda
In today’s post, Dr Andrew Joyce, Dr Perri Campbell, and Aurora Elmes from the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne argue that a social enterprise focused Job Guarantee could be an important part of a suite of policies to address imbalance in the labour market in the wake of COVID-19.
A policy agenda of full employment as a response to COVID-19 has been suggested by senior Labour figures in Wayne Swan and Ged Kearney and the Greens are proposing a Job Guarantee (JG) for young people. Much of the posturing about these full employment policies links them to big infrastructure initiatives such as renewable energy infrastructure. However, this may not be the only, or indeed, the best way to achieve full employment, particularly in respect of the JG.
This most prolific writer on the implementation of a JG, Pavlina Tcherneva, describes how the JG would most effectively be implemented if funded federally and administered locally through social enterprises and not for profit organisations. Research from developing countries that have implemented a JG shows that there is a risk of prioritizing the use of human labour over technology for infrastructure projects and that this has resulted in inferior results. While good regulation should prevent such occurrences, there are other reasons why social enterprises are well placed to be a central plank of a JG policy.
Our own research with social enterprises reveals how they can be an effective organizational model to address the needs of the long term unemployed and other groups at risk of being disenfranchised from the labour market, such as people facing mental health problems challenges and people with disabilities. These social enterprises provide a purposeful and flexible work environment that enables people to regain their confidence and in some cases, transition into the open labour market. This flexibility includes providing education, training, mentoring, counselling, via varied tasks, varied hours and in different settings. While this inclusive practice can also be seen in the private sector, it is the degree to which this tailored flexibility is offered and the specific intent around social purpose that differentiates social enterprises from traditional private sector and public sector employment. It is this flexibility and ability to shape the role around the particular interests of each individual employee that would differentiate a social enterprise from a large infrastructure project.
There are particular features of a JG that would make it appealing to individual social enterprises. While the mission focus of social enterprises is directly applicable to addressing unemployment, and other social problems, they cannot of themselves achieve full employment without the funding mechanism of a JG. Such funding would also enable a prioritization of social purpose whereas presently, many social enterprises face significant tension between meeting financial and social purpose goals which limits their ability to cater for the full range of human diversity and social problems. While social enterprises operating within a JG policy would still need to operate with financial discipline and could partially subsidize the scheme through their market activities, the JG provides the safety mechanism through which to prioritize their social missions.
There are also advantages to individual employees of a social enterprise. Research shows that there are some people for whom transitioning from a social enterprise to a private sector employer is not feasible due to a lack of job opportunities in the local area and personal and social circumstances. If the JG is a permanent feature of the economy, then it means that some people can continue to work in social enterprises and not be forced to look for other employment opportunities which is the current experience of some.
While the JG has considerable benefits to the economy and addressing the needs of the unemployed, it is by no means a panacea to the current employment crisis. By design, the JG focuses on entry level positions. This does not meet the needs of the large number of people with skills and qualifications that are currently unemployed. Further it does not address issues related to social structures such as racism and negative attitudes to people with a disability that exclude people from private sector employment opportunities. A social enterprise focused JG could be an important part of a suite of policies to properly address the current shortcomings of the labour market and the terrible human cost that results.
Finally, while the current communication about full employment and JG represents early forays into the large political debate there are some potential areas of concern. The key writers on JG conceptualize the scheme as a counter cyclical measure to achieve full employment at all times. Presumably the Greens are proposing the idea for just young people as a way to introduce the topic. Whether they have put as much thought into how to frame the policy idea is an area for debate.
Research out of the US shows that compared to other employment and welfare reforms, the JG has good support across both liberal and conservative voters. Research conducted in Australia shows that unemployed people don’t necessarily mind the concept of mutual obligation but rather, how it is being implemented. The Greens are linking the idea of a JG to climate change and GetUp have produced a typical inflammatory piece that while explaining the JG concept well does nothing to broaden political support. Linking a JG to topics that are already highly political may be counterproductive. There may be ways to frame the topic that makes it appealing to conservative voters while still ensuring it does not envisage either the language or intent of the work for the dole scheme. Placing social enterprises at the centre of the communication and thinking about the JG may be one such starting point.
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Project title: Improving Health Equity of Young People? The Role of Social Enterprise. The study is supported by the Australian Research Council, Social Traders, VicHealth and Foundation of Young Australians.
https://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/social-impact/publications/#report-2020
Professor Jo Barraket, Professor Jane Farmer, Associate Professor Gemma Carey, Dr Andrew Joyce, Associate Professor Chris Mason, Dr Roksolana Suchowerska, Dr Perri Campbell, Dr Joanne McNeill, and Ms Batool Moussa.
Content moderator: Sue Olney