Abstract

The work of prison professionals is, without doubt, an important factor. This is influenced by several variables such as the level of burnout and health of workers themselves, which we presume will influence their perception of the emotional climate of prison. The objective of the study is to establish the value of the emotional climate in terms of the levels of burnout and health in a sample of prison workers, using labor level within the institution as a mediator. Participants are 222 professionals, of both sexes, from different prisons in Spain; ranging from 18 to 60 years of age, and with labor levels of interior surveillance officers (N = 163, 73.4 %), technical treatment and personal teams (N = 42, 18.9%) and office and administrative staff (N = 17, 7.7%). The results indicate that the level of emotional exhaustion influences perception, both positive and negative, of the prison environment, in both interior surveillance officers and technical and personal staff. In addition, personal fulfillment influences the perception of positive climate in the group interior surveillance officers, while health influences their perception of negative climate. The results and their implications are discussed. Keywords: prision, emotional climate, burnout, health, prison environment