Competing time orders in human service work: towards a politics of time

Human service work is being reconfigured by welfare state reforms driven by neo-liberal globalization. Sectors are being merged, ‘hybrid’ occupations formed and occupational boundaries renegotiated. Yet time is rarely considered in the study of such boundary work. This article conceptualizes time as generated by human action, in different orders that may operate in tension with one another. Three case studies of reform in educational work, from Finland, England and Germany, each illustrate a particular configuration of these competing time orders. The article concludes by arguing for a politics of time to create a more democratic climate for education and other human services work.