Prison service employee’s empathy and professional burnout

Abstract

Prison service employees belong to a professional group that is susceptible to a quick professional burnout. They spend a few hours per day in a limited space with the same individuals – the co-workers and the prisoners. While providing support to the latter ones, they frequently do not see the results of their own work. Moreover, when staying in a close contact, especially the direct one, with the socially maladjusted persons – the so-called challenging client, the process of their desensitization is triggered. Thus, the aim of the author’s own research was to define the level of emotional and cognitive empathy as well as the severity of the occupational burnout of penitentiary educators and security officers in penal institutions. Therefore the author’s own research was conducted by applying a diagnostic survey method using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) in order to determine the extent to which the surveyed individuals are professionally burned out.. Moreover, the Polish version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index was used to provide the answer to the question regarding the level of empathy of the respondents. The study involved seventy (70) officers of the Prison Service from four penitentiary units of the District Inspectorate of Prison Service in Bialystok and Lublin, half of whom were penitentiary educators.