Abstract
Research on prison work is missing a fundamental link in the chain of reasoning connecting the practices of the work with its sourcing and the comprehension of inmates regarding the work they do outside the prison during their incarceration. As an opening towards remedying this lacuna, this article explores a modern-day prison work practice through the lens of the potlatch practices to delve into how work is sourced in the prisons and examine how this process influences the perceptions of inmates about the work. Drawing on interviews and observations from inmates and officers who work outside the prisons, the article revealed the angelic hubris embedded in sourcing jobs for inmates whilst exploring the meanings of comeuppance, natural selection, back-scratching and symbolic violence of inmates regarding working outside prisons. The findings refocus our attention from the dyadic inmate-officer relationship to an intricate triad of inmates as workers by shedding more light on varying processes and avenues from which work is sourced and how the processes influence the understanding and performance of inmates. More generally, the study advances knowledge on how the art of forced generosity is embedded in nuances that propel the receiver to reciprocate the kindness granted by a person of influence in multiple folds. Research on prison work is missing a fundamental link in the chain of reasoning connecting the practices of the work with its sourcing and the comprehension of inmates regarding the work they do outside the prison during their incarceration. As an opening towards remedying this lacuna, this article explores a modern-day prison work practice through the lens of the potlatch practices to delve into how work is sourced in the prisons and examine how this process influences the perceptions of inmates about the work. Drawing on interviews and observations from inmates and officers who work outside the prisons, the article revealed the angelic hubris embedded in sourcing jobs for inmates whilst exploring the meanings of comeuppance, natural selection, back-scratching and symbolic violence of inmates regarding working outside prisons. The findings refocus our attention from the dyadic inmate-officer relationship to an intricate triad of inmates as workers by shedding more light on varying processes and avenues from which work is sourced and how the processes influence the understanding and performance of inmates. More generally, the study advances knowledge on how the art of forced generosity is embedded in nuances that propel the receiver to reciprocate the