Meanings of sport and workplace health promotion for prison officers

Vollständiger Abstract

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Introduction In recent years, there has been an increasing implementation of exercise and sports programs for inmates in prison, and research has also increasingly focused on the importance of sports offerings in closed correctional facilities beyond rehabilitation and socio-therapeutic treatment. (Müller, 2024; Müller & Schröder, 2023). The perspective of correctional officers as employees in total institutions (Goffman, 1973) has long been overlooked in research. For them, movement and exercise are an essential part of their daily work in prison to maintain security in the institution, stay healthy themselves, and balance the demanding tasks and psychological stress. (www.justiz.gv.at). Data on the effects of working conditions on staff in the total institution of prisons have often only been collected in Austria as part of workplace health promotion measures and show a particularly diverse range of stress factors for employees. (Hochstrasser, 2013). As part of a qualitative pilot study, we asked about the importance prison officers attach to their own physical activity and exercise, as well as in the context of their professional work. Methods For the data collection, guided interviews were conducted with eight prison officers from different correctional facilities. Selection and access to the prisons were carried out after approval by the Ministry of Justice. Data were analysed by content analysis (Mayring, 2021). Results and Discussion The findings show that exercise and sport are personally highly valued by prison officers. On one hand, they are seen as important basis for job performance, which is also reflected in the respect from the prison inmates, especially in critical situations. In addition, exercise and sports are valued as important coping strategies for the many work-related stresses. On the other hand, the institution and the society in general are expecting a high level of fitness of the prison officers, which seems to be especially for elderly employees a big challenge to deal with. As a result, the respondents called for more targeted offerings within workplace health promotion programs, which will be discussed in the presentation. References Goffman, E. (1973). Asyle. Über die soziale Situation psychiatrischer Patienten und anderer Insassen. Suhrkamp. Hochstrasser, J. (2013). Betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung im Strafvollzug. Universität Graz. Mayring, P. (2021). Qualitative Content Analysis. A Step-by-Step Guide. Sage. Müller, J. (2024). Sport in der totalen Institution. Eine Gefängnisethnographie. Springer VS. Müller, J. & Schröder, J. (2023). Behandlung im Strafvollzug: Sportmaßnahmen. In J. Endres & S. Suhling (Hrsg.), Behandlung im Strafvollzug. Ein Handbuch für Praxis und Wissenschaft (S. 563-576). Springer VS. Reder, S. (2022). Die Bedeutung von Bewegung und Sport bei Justizwachebeamt*innen. Universität Wien.