Working climate in Dutch custodial institutions

A recent employee satisfaction survey of the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen, DJI) showed that many employees are dissatisfied with the safety in their working environment and the attention they get from the management team. Prison officers and security guards, two functions which make up a large share of the staff, are particularly dissatisfied. However, the survey does not give a lot of insight in the backgrounds of the (dis)satisfaction. Hence, DJI would like to know: about what, and especially why, are employees dissatisfied exactly?

SEOR has conducted a study to answer this question, by speaking with employees within the different institutions and services of DJI, an inventarisation of the literature and further analysis on the data from the employee satisfaction survey. The study shows that DJI employees are positive about their colleagues, the work itself and their autonomy. Negative factors are amongst others a high workload, the shortcomings of the management, bad communication within the organisation and a sense of unsafety.