Abstract:

The aim of the study, which was originally an evaluation of the project "Supporting Prison and Probation Treatment Staff through Professional Supervision", was to provide a detailed insight into the difficulties and challenges in the work of treatment officers in the Croatian penitentiary system and to evaluate the effectiveness of the supervision process. However, in the middle of the project implementation, the corona virus pandemic begins. The so called lock-down changed the way of working and living. Treatment staff in prison and probation was first time faced with distance working, a different organization of work and new challenges in communication.

The study includes 62 treatment professionals in Croatian prisons and probation institutions. They were examined at the very beginning of the project, the starting point for measuring the effectiveness of supervision. After the lock-down, supervision sessions were resumed and respondents completed a questionnaire upon their return to work and project activities, so the results can be seen as a response to a new way of working and living among the many changes that occurred. Respondents completed the questionnaire at the starting point in October, 2019. and the final one in June, 2020.

Conducted instruments were: Questionnaire of job satisfaction (Spector, 1985), Questionnaire of level of organizational stress (McCreary and Thompson, 2006) and Scale of autonomy at work (Spector and Fox, 2003).

The results were analysed descriptively, the normality of the distribution was analysed, the differences between two measurement points were determined with the Mann-Whitney test. The differences in organisational stress levels between the groups according to their prediction for the next 5 years, if they will remain in the same job position, were analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test.

The results of the descriptive statistics on job satisfaction show in the starting point of measurement that the professionals were most dissatisfied with the material aspects of work - salary, rewards, opportunities for promotion, material resources for work and most satisfied with the nature of work, cooperation, and relationships with supervisors. According to second measurement the existing problems became even more intense, and the existing forces like satisfaction with cooperation, relationships with superiors and meaning of work was build up.

Descriptive statistics further suggest that in starting point higher average of organisational stress levels are obtained by excessive administrative work, inadequate professional training and new equipment, lack of necessary resources, inadequate equipment, too much computer work, and constant changes in policy and legislation. Lower average of organisational stress levels is obtained by working with colleagues and supervisors, internal control, pressure to volunteer, and attitudes toward sick leave. Differences in organizational stress between two measurement points occurred as lower frequency of stress due to inadequate work resources.

Respondents' autonomy at work is generally high. There is no difference between the examined aspects of autonomy before and during the lock-down.

Differences in organisational stress levels between groups (depending on their prediction of whether they will stay in the same job) are found in relation to high responsibility and low appreciation of job performance.

Keywords:

Job satisfaction, organizational stress, autonomy at work, prison and probation staff, lock-down.