– You decide the level of benefits and we get fired for it – Dagsavisen

Home visits, purchases of new appliances, walks with the dog, appointment with the GP, text messages about big and small things. Perhaps not what most people, or Storting politicians, associate with Nav employees’ everyday life. But this is what Mímir Kristjánsson (Red), Tuva Moflag (Labor Party) and Per Olaf Lundteigen (Center Party) heard about on Nav Sagene in Oslo.

The three sit on the labor and social affairs committee at the Storting and were invited by FO, which believes politicians need more knowledge about how important social work is in Nav.

Four employees at Nav Sagene told their stories about the people they work with and the way they work.

The job of getting people to work can therefore start with going for a walk and buying white goods. It’s no use coming up with working life measures for people who have miserable living conditions and can’t afford to buy clothes for their children, the employees explain.

[ Voldsutsatt Oslo-lærer: – Jeg ville jo ikke være noen «dramaqueen» heller ]

A wall of resistance

Social worker Julian Slettaøien told about a man who had lived on social assistance for several years. He had been on nine different measures and was not very motivated for the tenth.

– I met a wall of resistance to work. When I started to dig into that resistance, I found that the man had problems with his teeth and other health. He had never been to the GP. So the first task was to find out who it was. I offered to join, and he accepted, Slettaøien told.

After the body and teeth were taken care of, the social worker continued to build the necessary trust.

He invited himself to the man’s home. And found an unsuitable home where both the fridge and much else was out of order.

– These are things that are easy to take for granted, but very difficult to live without, Slettaøien said to nodding politicians.

He emphasized that timing is absolutely crucial to success.

Previously, this man was in shock and grief over serious losses in his life. Even the best measures fall short when people are so far from being ready for work, he believes.

[ Eline Skår var uføretrygdet og uten jobb i årevis. Så kom telefonen som endret alt ]

A table with the most delicious dishes

Lettaøien also warns against thinking “now I’m done with you” when a person has started work. For many, long-term follow-up is necessary, even when things are getting better, he emphasizes.

Slettaøien’s colleagues followed up with similar stories. About joining screenings. About putting the job search on hold when you realize that alcohol is a problem. About giving a few extra hundreds of pounds to dog owners when you see paralyzing concern for the dog’s well-being. About rethinking; when you have to meet a user with a lot of aggression towards Nav, schedule the meeting somewhere other than the Nav office. About inviting people to their homes to get a better impression of what resources they have.

Ida Kristine Brodersen told about a single mother in the family department where she works; a poor woman with limited knowledge of Norwegian, no education, no work experience in Norway and no opportunity to pay for leisure activities for the children.

Brodersen invited himself to her home. Then she saw that much was missing and broken. But she was also greeted by an impressive table with the most delicious dishes, prepared by a woman with great care for everyone around her.

In the long run, it became a job in a canteen and the goal of training to become a healthcare worker for this woman. A long way, but based on her interests and skills.

– We who work in Nav are not supposed to accept gifts from the users, but of course we did not refuse to eat with her, stated Brodersen.

[ Er det Nav som har skylda? ]

– Proud traditions of social work

Brodersen applied for a place in a nursery school and after-school program for the woman’s children. Thanks to good cooperation between the Nav office and the local football team, the eldest daughter was able to start playing football. And mother received a course in digital skills to be able to follow the children’s schooling.

– Touching stories. I am humbled by what you are going through, said Per Olaf Lundteigen.

– Great to hear how you work here. At the same time, there are so many stories about everyone who does not get help at Nav. How do you manage to do this, Mímir Kristjánsson wanted to know.

– The success criteria lie in how the Nav office is managed and organised, replied Ann Kristin Tveøy, manager at Nav Sagene.

Social work follow-up is a competence that must be invested in and practiced, she emphasizes.

If, on the other hand, the Nav offices concentrate on helping those who are easier to get into work, it can produce good numbers. But the knowledge needed to help those who need it most is weathering, she believes.

Nav Sagene covers an area of ​​Oslo with major living conditions problems and has what Tveøy calls “proud traditions of social work”.

[ Syke og uføre trakasseres: – Jeg vet ærlig talt ikke hva som bor i folk ]

– Disrespectful

The politicians had to put up with a bit of banter, both for the framework they give Nav and for media coverage of the agency.

– We see every single day how exhausting it is to be poor, that it is hopeless to live on benefits that are paid out on seven different dates a month. The framework you give us in Nav is simply disrespectful. And you don’t take responsibility for the scandalous cases either, said Alice Sletbak.

– It is not me who has determined the benefit level, but I am the one who accepts the harassment for it. I can stand it, but not everyone does, stated Julian Slettaøien.

Ida Brodersen believes that politicians often make statements about Nav on a thin basis.

– Every year before Christmas, you come up with media stories about extra money for Christmas for those who live on social benefits. Then we have already processed applications for it for our users, and then there will be a lot of extra work, said Brodersen.

– Sorry!, exclaimed Tuva Moflag.

[ Vi må ta et oppgjør med arbeidslinja ]

– Send me an email!

Mímir Kristjánsson also took self-criticism. He has on several occasions criticized Nav for making life difficult for those who struggle the most in society.

Sometimes he has reacted to individual cases, such as when he was called by a man who complained that Nav had asked him to sell the car.

On Sagene, Kristjánsson was explained that there can be good reasons for decisions even if they seem strange from the outside. Politicians should not talk about individual matters they do not have full insight into, warned Brodersen.

Nav is almost too complex for politicians, admitted Kristjánsson.

He would like advice from the employees on how to carry out system criticism without it appearing as criticism of the employees.

– Send me an e-mail the next time you get tired of things I say, urged Kristjánsson.

[ Da Isabelle skulle få lønna si, fikk hun beskjed om at hun skyldte arbeidsgiveren penger ]

– Time and trust

– We sit in an awful lot of meetings. Half is wasted. It wasn’t this, Kristjánsson said on the way out.

– Can you name one thing you want to take back to the Storting?

– The most concrete thing that I can think of right now is a proposal that all the various benefits must be paid out on one and the same date, says the Rødt politician.

– How important it is with time and trust. The employees clearly saw how important human relations are at Nav. I’ll take that with me, replies Tuva Moflag.

For the employees, it was a good day at work. It doesn’t hurt if politicians get a little more insight into how Nav actually works, they believe.

– I think we brought out the complexity of what we do, says Ida Brodersen.

– This was fun. It is better to talk together than to talk past each other, says Julian Slettaøien.

[ Monica ble politi – broren Roy ble beinhard kriminell ]

[ Trine dro hjem til Norge da hun fikk kreft. Så oppdaget hun tabben hun hadde gjort ]