More than three-quarters of voters (77%) think long-term benefit claimants should have to do community work in return for the dole, according to a survey.
And more than two-thirds (69%) think claimants should lose their benefits if they turn down the offer of a job - even if it pays the same or less than welfare payouts.
Around half (51%) said people should not be able to get welfare at all unless they have previously paid into the system through national insurance and tax.
The Mori survey was conducted for thinktank Policy Exchange, which published a report calling for jobseekers to be required to put in a full 35-hour week in their work-search.
The report also called for a "contributory" welfare system, under which those who have previously paid national insurance are treated more generously than those with little or no record of working.
At present, all claimants are allowed to turn down jobs they do not find attractive during the first three months of their claim. The report suggested that this right should only be enjoyed by those with a record of national insurance contributions.
And it called for harsher penalties for people who fail to look for a job, citing recent Government research suggesting that more than one-third of benefit claimants thought there was nothing wrong in opting for a life on welfare rather than work.
The report's co-author Matt Oakley, head of economics and social policy at Policy Exchange, said: "The welfare state was set up to help those in genuine need. Over the past 65 years that founding principle has been diminished and welfare dependency has grown. We now find ourselves in a situation where large numbers of those claiming benefit are doing so not out of necessity but because they believe it's a fundamental right to take from the state.
"Spending just seven hours a week looking for work - less time than the average person spends at work each day - is not enough. There are limits on Government's ability to coax people into work with higher tax credits or welfare payments. With nearly 5.5 million adults now living in households where no-one is in work, the Government needs to put in place much stricter conditions so that life on benefits is not an option."
Mori polled 2,022 adults for Policy Exchange between January 7 and 13 this year.
