The Professional Role of Active Solidarity Income Support Advisors between Perceived Conflicts and Feelings of Recognition

By Audrey Gohin, Marie-Pierre Cazals, Sandrine Croity-Belz
English

In France, measures and laws concerning aid for recipients of minimum social benefits have evolved: the Active Solidarity Income support (RSA in French) replaced the Minimum Income Benefits (RMI in French) in 2008. However, the RSA follows the same logic as the RMI for RSA recipients: rights (financial allowance) and duties (seeking employment in order to leave the RSA). The logic of rights and duties is part of a policy of activating control, determined at European level. In France, at the local level, the departmental councils take charge of RSA recipients by providing either social or professional support. At the end of the chain, the RSA advisors support these recipients in their job search. How do these RSA advisors support RSA recipients, who are often a long way from employment? How do they manage between the requirements of employability and the values of support, both together could be in contradiction and lead to the conflict? Do they feel sufficiently recognised in the exercise of their professional role? To answer these questions, we conduct questionnaire surveys of 211 RSA advisors on french territory. The questionnaire was built specifically for this population. In that sense, the analyses of this questionnaire are essentially exploratory. The responses to the questionnaire were analysed using factor analysis: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to create indicators and Factor Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD), corresponding to our set of qualitative and quantitative variables, to study the correlations and dissociations between the variables. The results of this analysis show three types of profile among the RSA advisors. A first profile of professionals who are involved in a conflictual dynamic in the orientation of their professional role. A second profile of RSA advisors who feel recognised and comfortable in the exercise of its professional role. The Factor Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD) shows an unexpected third profile: RSA advisors with experience in their job perceive both recognition and work overload, which raises questions about the instrumentalisation of the notion of recognition.