Work, Culture and Wellbeing among Prison Governors in England and Wales

Harrison, Karen; Mason, Rachael; Nichols, Helen; Smith, Lauren

Abstract

This book offers an important insight into the health and wellbeing of prison operational managers and governor grades working within prisons in the UK. The authors bring together expertise from psychology, health, law, and criminology, to present a unique multidisciplinary examination of health and wellbeing based on interviews with Prison Governors’ Association members. Examining how the participants described their health and wellbeing at work and at home, the authors reveal dysfunctional culture, disenchantment and disengagement, the heavy weight of expectations and high levels of professional uncertainty relating to the future. It argues that more governor grade specific and arguably mandated support is needed. Recommendations from the book will contribute to improving health and wellbeing amongst the governor work force, feeding into positive outcomes in relation to staff retention and prison expansion challenges.

Citation

Harrison, K., Mason, R., Nichols, H., & Smith, L. (2024). Work, Culture and Wellbeing among Prison Governors in England and Wales. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57433-7

• Book Type: Monograph
• Online Publication Date: Jul 29, 2024
• Publication Date: Jul 30, 2024
• Deposit Date: Mar 13, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 30, 2025
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology
• Series ISSN: 2753-0604 ; 2753-0612
• ISBN: 9783031574320 ; 9783031574351
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57433-7
• Keywords: Prison Health; Workplace culture; Health psychology; Organizational psychology; Prison culture; Mental health in prison
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4589541