The Taint of The Other: Prison Work as ‘Dirty Work’ In Australia

Abstract

This article explores how prison staff in Australia view their work and how their work is viewed by others, by applying a theoretical framework of ‘dirty work’. ‘Dirty work’ is a social construction that refers to tasks that are ‘physically, socially or morally tainted’ ( Ashforth and Kreiner, 1999 ; Hughes, 1958 ) and this article will apply this concept to prison staff in Australia for the first time. The discussion is based on qualitative research in seven different Australian prisons, ranging from high to low security. The article illustrates how staff responds to working in a ‘dirty’ profession by reframing, refocusing, and recalibrating their daily work tasks; how the staff uniform can be utilised as a status shield and protector from taint; and how the stigma of ‘dirtiness’ tends to foster strong occupational and workgroup cultures which in turn makes cultural change of a profession difficult. The consequences of the dirty work stigma for staff and prisoners are discussed, with a focus on informal interactions, case work and dynamic security.