Digitalization and the Modification of Frontline Work: A Study of Frontline Workers’ Pursuit of Meaningfulness

Digitalization has often been described as relentless waves washing over organizations, aiming to enhance efficiency and quality; however, beneath the surface, unintended consequences and new unexpected streams of work behavior can emerge within these organizations. This issue has gained traction in public administration research, with a surge in studies examining digitaliza-tion’s impact on frontline work. While some studies have identified unintended and invisible con-sequences, such as additional tasks introduced by new technologies, limited research has focused on how frontline workers modify their daily tasks not only to make the technologies function and their work more manageable, but also to maintain meaningfulness in their work amid rapid tech-nological advancements. This dissertation contributes to the ongoing scholarly debate on public sector digitalization and the transformation of street-level bureaucracy, delving into the often overlooked and unintended consequences of digitalization within public sector organizations from the frontline worker’s per-spective. The research explores how frontline workers navigate, adapt to, and proactively use new digital technologies, and how their actions subsequently shape the technologies and organizational structures with which they interact. The dissertation argues that many of these modification prac-tices are motivated by the pursuit of meaningfulness in work, as pervasive digitalization initiatives challenge existing key characteristics of frontline work. Acknowledging meaningfulness in work as an inherent human need not only explains some unintended uses of technology but has also proven essential for organizational well-being and outcomes. Thus, this dissertation argues that ensuring such meaningfulness is crucial for sustainable public sector digitalization. Empirically, the dissertation is based on qualitative fieldwork conducted at a Danish job center from August 2020 to March 2023. The research design includes a combination of methods to closely capture the frontline workers’ experiences and actions within their everyday work envi-ronment. The qualitative data includes document analysis, semi-structured interviews, informal interviews, participant observations, and time studies through shadowing. Conceptually, three the-oretical frameworks are combined to capture various aspects of frontline workers’ everyday work modification practices in their quest for meaning. First, coping theory from street-level theory helps in understanding how frontline workers manage new digitalization standards that are inter-twined with existing resource problems in public sector organizations. Second, job crafting theory illustrates how many modification actions are proactive, forming part of an ongoing effort to ensure meaningful work. Finally, insights from science and technology studies on the relationship between work, technologies, and time highlight the temporal dimensions of work modification. By integrating these theoretical perspectives, this dissertation provides a comprehensive under-standing of digitalization and frontline workers’ work modification practices, capturing both re-active and proactive responses to digitalization and considering temporal factors, which have of-ten been overlooked but are essential for exploring supposedly timesaving technologies in prac-tice. In conclusion, based on these insights, this dissertation highlights challenges to be aware of when implementing new technologies and critical considerations to be made when new frontline skills are emerging, including flexible management of information, time, and digital tools.