Over the past decade, public services have come under increasing pressure to perform like private-sector organisations. This study demonstrates that professionals have much leeway in coping with changes caused by IT developments, distributed knowledge and more demanding public which have all created new pressures on public services. The authors conclude that rather than demanding more autonomy and space, public service professionals need renewed and workable professional standards.

Mirko Noordegraaf is professor of Public Management, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.Bram Steijn is professor HRM in the public sector at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Professionals under Pressure - 4 Contents - 6 Preface - 10 1 Introduction - 12 2 Professions, professionals and the‘new’ government policies - 22 3 Professionals, power and the reform of public services - 42 4 Professionals dealing with pressures - 56 5 A managerial assault on professionalism? - 74 6 Legal professionals under pressure - 92 7 Institutionalizing professional conflicts through financial reforms - 110 8 Public professionals and policy alienation - 126 9 Loyalties of public sector professionals - 146 10 Democratizing social work - 162 11 Bounded professionalism - 180 12 Control of front-line workers in welfare agencies - 194 13 Professionalization of (police) leaders - 212 14 Conclusions and ways forward - 230 About the editors and authors - 240