The dominant framing of the ‘problem’ of ‘welfare’ emphasises the non-working behaviours of out-of-work benefit claimants. This then serves to demarcate those who rely on ‘welfare’ from the ‘hard-working majority’ seen to be busy earning a wage, providing for themselves and their families and securing a fêted (if illusory) independence. Familiar and well-worn archetypes of the inactive benefit claimant do considerable rhetorical work in creating and reinforcing divisions between those in and out of work, and suggesting the need for corrective policy action to move ‘welfare dependants’ from welfare-to-work. But to what extent does this narrative fit with the lived experiences of out-of-work claimants themselves?

This chapter details the employment journeys of those interviewed, showing dynamic processes of engagement with and disengagement from the paid labour market. Following individuals’ experiences over time moves us beyond static demarcations between ‘workers’ and ‘welfare dependants’, enabling a better understanding of individuals’ uneven and often insecure relationships with paid employment. It becomes possible to tease out the extent of the mismatch between dominant representations of ‘work’ and ‘welfare’ and lived experiences on the ground. There is also scope to better understand how far the dominant citizenship narrative from above, which valorises and promotes paid work, fits with experiences from below. The policy approach emphasises welfare-to-work and activation policies as mechanisms that support transitions into employment, enabling greater social and citizenship inclusion for those so targeted (Patrick, 2014b). A key finding from this chapter is that the promised ‘world-class’ support from Job Centre Plus and the Work Programme is often experienced as ineffectual and unsupportive, sometimes even operating to undermine rather than enable work-related aspirations.

Critiquing recent work in this field, Andrew Dunn (2013, 2014) has argued that Left-leaning social policy academics too often selectively present evidence to dismiss ideas of a ‘welfare dependency’ culture and to undermine the rationale for welfare reform. Dunn suggests that some academics tend to only present their data on the majority of claimants who want to engage in paid work, while glossing over – even concealing – findings on the minority who do not show these same orientations. In a direct response to this critique, this chapter also explores the experiences and attitudes of the small minority of those interviewed who expressed reservations about engaging in the paid labour market. Following a discussion of individuals’ orientations to employment, the employment journeys of those interviewed during the initial research period are detailed. This chapter then looks at experiences of welfare-to-work support, encompassing the Work Programme and Job Centre Plus provision.