Emotionellt arbete och belastning i fängelsearbete

– utvecklingen över tid

Abstract

Prison officers is a complex occupation that deals with inmates at prisons daily, which includes encountering different emotional expressions. In this article we discuss how this emotional labour has changed over time. This is done by comparing data from two research projects (2009 and 2019). The results of such a comparison shows that prison officers feel that the emotional labour has become more tangible, and that the burden and fatigue that follows from this has become greater. At the same time, many prison officers experience few opportunities to recover from this type of strain during working hours. The development can be seen in the light of increased prison overcrowding but may also be linked to ideological and organizational changes within the Swedish Prison and Probation Services.