Fængselsbetjentes håndtering af følelsesmæssige krav og belastninger i arbejdet

Denne kappe er sammen med 4 videnskabelige artikler resultatet af et ph.d.- projekt, der havde til formål at undersøge følelsesmæssige krav og belastninger i fængselsbetjentes arbejde. Der er de senere år kommet et øget fokus på fængselsbetjentes arbejdsforhold og særligt på deres erfaringer med vold og trusler fra indsatte. Formålet med ph.d.-projektet var at synliggøre de mindre synlige belastninger og sider af fængselsbetjentes arbejde. Kappen indeholder en beskrivelse af baggrunden for projektet, teoretiske perspektiver og metoderne, der er anvendt for at undersøge krav og belastninger i fængselsbetjentes arbejde. Derudover præsenteres konklusionerne fra de 4 videnskabelige artikler, der trækker på empiri fra hhv. en kvantitativ og en kvalitativ delundersøgelse. Kappen viser, hvordan fængsler er konfliktfyldte arenaer, og at mange modsætningsforhold præger betjentenes hverdag. Den giver et billede af de komplekse krav, arbejdet rummer, og den følelseshåndtering, der er nødvendig for at betjente både kan agere professionelt og undgå at brænde ud af jobbet.<br/

Contextualizing Violence Prevention – How Contextual Aspects Influence the Implementation of a Violence Prevention Initiative in Prisons and Psychiatry

The aim of this study was to investigate which contextual aspects and mechanisms are decisive in the implementation of an integrated, tailored intervention to prevent violence and threats of violence from patients or inmates towards employees in psychiatric units and in prisons and detention centers. Based on a standardized implementation degree assessment of fidelity, reach and dose delivered, we selected two workplace cases from each sector, one with a high and one with a low implementation degree. Using a realist evaluation framework, we conducted a thematic analysis of the four selected workplace cases to identify prevalent contextual aspects and mechanisms underlying the implementation degree. We found that prioritization, synergy with parallel change processes, and intervention fit, were decisive mechanisms for the successful implementation of the intervention. We also found that lack of resources (staff instability, insufficient time, poor mental resources) and resource-demanding parallel change processes, were contextual aspects that “blocked” all mechanisms. That is, when resources were not available, none of the mechanisms for implementing the intervention was activated. Our findings point to the importance of investigating the role of contextual aspects when assessing the effectiveness of organizational interventions

"It may consume you”: An analysis of emotional consequences of being a prison officer

Når man arbejder som fængselsbetjent, er en del af jobbet at håndtere de indsattes følelser og reaktioner på indespærringen. Indsatte i danske fængsler oplever forskellige følelser og lidelser i løbet af deres afsoning. De er frataget, muligheder og ressourcer, som de er vant til at trække på udenfor murerne. Nogle bliver udadreagerende, voldelige, eller truende overfor personalet eller smadrer deres celleinventar, mens andre isolerer sig, skader sig selv eller forsøger selvmord. Samtidig med at skulle håndtere de indsattes følelser og reaktioner, skal betjentene også håndtere deres egne følelser i arbejdet og fremstå professionelle både overfor indsatte og overfor deres kolleger. Temaet for denne artikel er, hvordan fængselsbetjente forholder sig til indsattes lidelser og reaktioner på indespærringen og hvilken betydning individuelle og kollektive håndteringsstrategier har for betjentenes arbejdsliv og privatliv.The article examines how prison officers feel and react to pains of imprisonment of the inmates. The empirical data stem from a qualitative field study and interviews with prison officers conducted in a Danish prison. Drawing on Arlie R. Hochshilds theory of emotional labor the article analyzes different stances that prison officers seem to take toward their work, each with different kinds of risk. The article concludes that both an empathetic and a cynical stance can have a negative influence on the working life of prison officers. The article also shows how working in a prison influences the private life of prison officers and it demonstrates that their working role can be very intrusive to their private-life and private social relationships. Moreover, the article illustrates how prison officers manage emotions collectively. Colleagues are important and influence how prison officers are able to cope with their job

”Du skal virkelig have styr på dig selv” – en analyse af fængselsbetjentes følelsesarbejde

Fængselsbetjente er med til at varetage Kriminalforsorgens hovedopgave nemlig at udøve straf og kontrol samt støtte og motivere til en kriminalitetsfri tilværelse. På baggrund af observation af arbejdet og interviews med fængselsbetjente i et dansk lukket fængsel præsenterer artiklen en analyse af følelsesmæssige krav og dilemmaer i fængselsbetjentes arbejde. Artiklen viser, hvordan betjente udtrykker følelser professionaliseret, under de rette omstændigheder og i den rette dosis for at efterleve humane og pønale hensyn. Det fremstår både nødvendigt og farligt at udtrykke både venlighed og vrede, ligesom det er afgørende at kunne undertrykke frygt. Artiklen diskuterer desuden de særlige følelsesmæssige dilemmaer, der udspringer af fængslets dobbelte funktion og selvmodsigende karakter. De modstridende rammer og opgaver betyder, at betjentene må være i stand til at kunne træde ind og ud af forskellige roller og gå ind og ud af forskellige følelser og følelsesudtryk. Betjentene må udvikle relationer til indsatte, som hverken er for fjerne eller for nære, ligesom de hverken må være for rigide eller for fleksible i forhold til regelhåndhævelse. Analysen viser desuden en stærk uformel social kontrol blandt kolleger. Betjente må ikke blot søge at kontrollere det indtryk, de giver indsatte, men også hvordan de virker på deres kolleger. Denne sociale kontrol tydeliggør det følelsesmæssig pres og dilemmaer, som betjente må håndtere for at udføre jobbet på den rette måde. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Dorte Raaby Andersen: ”You Should Really Get a Hold of Yourself”: An Analysis of Prison Officers’ Emotional Work This article presents a qualitative analysis of the emotional demands and dilemmas of prison work. Based on fieldwork in a Danish closed prison and interviews with prison officers, I analyze how prison officers manage their own emotions as well as those of prisoners. Emotions are not freely expressed in prisons. Prison officers must express and suppress different emotions as a part of their job to meet organizational norms. The article shows how prison officers must establish a relationship with prisoners to make the prison run smoothly. It shows that they have to balance between contradictory goals and different dilemmas, and that they must take a lot of reservations on a daily basis. They must be friendly, but not too friendly, flexible but not too flexible. Furthermore, the article stresses that prison officers must not only control the impression they give to prisoners, but at the same time they must be aware of how they perform in front of colleagues. Keywords: prison work, emotions, dilemmas, social control

Negotiating access and research roles within the care sector and in slaughterhouses: – experiences from ethnographic fieldwork

Ethnographic methods are well-known research methods in working life studies. Textbooks provide insight into considerations about access, positioning, and social roles. But how does the negotiation of access and role play out across different workplace contexts? Based on an analysis of field notes from observation and interviews in the care sector and in slaughterhouses, this article contributes with ethnographic experiences about the relationship between the researcher and the field. The article illustrates how the negotiation of role plays out across contexts, and how the context influences the ethnographer’s ability to take on different research roles. The article shows how auto-ethnographic descriptions can provide a unique insight into the work context and that they can be combined with conventional ethnographic descriptions. If the context allows it, different ethnographic methods can complement each other and help the researcher to clarify and switch between roles during the fieldwork and in the written presentation of this. However, an important methodological point of the article is that the role of the researcher and the methodological approach is not something that is freely chosen but something that is negotiated and determined by the context and requires that the ethnographer has something to negotiate with that is given value in the given context.Etnografiske metoder er udbredte metoder inden for arbejdslivsforskningen. Metodebøger giver indblik i overvejelser omkring, hvordan man som etnograf får adgang til feltet, om positionering og roller. Men hvordan udspiller forhandling om adgang og forskerrolle sig på tværs af forskellige arbejdspladskontekster? På baggrund af en analyse af feltnotater fra observation og interviews i plejesektoren og i slagteribranchen bidrager artiklen med praksisfortællinger om levede erfaringer i relationen mellem forsker og felt. Artiklen illustrerer, hvordan forhandling af rolle udspiller sig på tværs af kontekst, og hvilken betydning konteksten har for forskerens mulighed for at indtage forskellige forskerroller. Det fremgår, hvordan forskerens aktive deltagelse i arbejdet i den ene branche giver en kropslig erfaring og er en særlig kilde til forståelse og viden om arbejdet. Men erfaringerne fra den anden branche, hvor forskeren henvises til en rolle som observatør, bidrager også med en viden om det arbejdsliv, der udfolder sig på arbejdspladsen. Artiklen viser desuden, hvordan autoetnografiske beskrivelser kan give en unik indsigt i arbejdskonteksten og at de kan kobles med konventionelle etnografiske beskrivelser. Hvis konteksten tillader det, kan forskellige etnografiske metoder supplere hinanden og hjælpe forskeren til at tydeliggøre og skifte mellem roller i løbet af feltarbejdet og i sin skriftlige fremstilling. En væsentlig metodisk pointe i artiklen er dog, at forskerrollen og den metodiske tilgang ikke er noget, der frit kan vælges, men er noget, som forhandles og bestemmes af konteksten og som ikke mindst kræver, at forskeren har noget at forhandle med, der tillægges værdi i den givne kontekst

Burnout among Danish prison personnel: A question of quantitative and emotional demands

Objectives The objective of this follow-up study was to investigate associations between individual, occupational and work environment factors and burnout among both uniformed and non-uniformed personnel working in the Danish Prison and Probation Service. Methods The participants (N = 4808) with client contact received a questionnaire in 2010 and again in 2011. In 2010, 2843 participants responded to the questionnaire (59.1%), and in 2011, 1741 responded to the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 61.2% of the baseline population, and 36.2% of the invited population. Burnout and work characteristics were measured with validated scales from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, and data was analysed by logistic regression. Results Risk factors with the highest impact on burnout were work environmental factors: quantitative demands, emotional demands, involvement in and meaning of work. Role conflict, role clarity, social support and demands for hiding emotions had borderline significance. Besides cohabitation, there was no association between individual factors and burnout or between occupational characteristics and burnout. Moreover, there was no association between exposure to threats and violence and burnout. Conclusions: Efforts for preventing burnout ought to be concentrated on reducing the quantitative job-demands, on easing and improving staff–inmate relationships, but also on involvement in and meaning of work. Most work in prison is invisible and the overall goals are in conflict with each other. Management must provide solutions to problems of role conflict and support groups for social support. There is a risk of burnout among both uniformed personnel and non-uniformed personnel working in both open and closed facilities.</p