In a current situation in which unpredictability and adversity are presented as inevitable environment characteristics facing both public and private organizations; to aspire for resilient organizations is seen as a promising way forward within management and organization theory (Cooper et al. 2014; King et al. 2016). Originally based in research on disasters and high reliability organizations (Rochlin 1993; Vaughan 1996; Weick 1990), resilience - the ability to flexibly and efficiently bounce back in situations of adversity - is introduced as a mould fitting to all organizations (Weick et al.2008; Woods 2006; Vogus & Sutcliffe 2007).
Despite conceptual differences and disagreements across research fields (Bhamra et al. 2011; Hartmann 2015; Jackson et al. 2007; Tusaie & Dyer 2004) the interest in resilience forms part of a common 'positive' research agenda under the labels: 'Positive Organizational Scholarship' and 'Positive Organizational Behaviour' (Dutton et al. 2007; Luthans & Youssef 2007; Cameron & Spreitzer 2011). Whether searching individuals, teams or organizations attention is towards identifying and managing the 'positive resources' in the workplace.
Based on a qualitative case study of the organization of prison work, this paper challenges the generic tendencies as well as the one dimensional normativity within resilience research. When studying the organization of high risk work practices in situ, 'resilient capabilities' show to be far more ambiguous, representing as well a flip side to them.
The Danish Prison and Probation Services resembles the characteristics of a High Reliability Organization. To a large degree, organizational members find themselves 'in an unforgiving social and political environment' (Weick et al. 2008: 32). With a specific focus on prison officers, the aim of the study has been to investigate the psycho-social work environment, paying particular attention to the work task, work relationships, and the organization and management of work, thus situating the psycho-social aspects firmly within the work organization. Methods include 5 1/2 weeks of shadowing of prison officers, 41 individual interviews with employees and managers, as well as auto-photography followed by photo-elicitation with 3 different groups of prison officers.
As we specify the positive resources in prison work - the team and the rules - we also elicit their highly ambiguous nature. As others have shown before (Crawley & Crawley, 2007; Lombardo, 1985; Poole & Regoli, 1981), the team serves a vital resource to the prison officers. At the same time, however, it is the very dynamics of group cohesiveness that ruthlessly exclude colleagues, who do not conform to group values. Likewise, rules are important instigators of common routine behavior, which are considered important to build resilient capabilities (Woods 2006). Yet, the regular need for prison officers to also bend rules, often produce vulnerabilities to both the individual and the team.
Conclusively, given the inherent dilemmas and structural tensions within prison work and its current organization, the positive resources represent as well a negative side. This calls for a more nuanced conceptualization of resilience - across organizational, team and individual levels –and for further detailed empirical investigations of resilience as it unfolds within specific work organizations. To firmly situate the notion of resilience within the specific organizational reality under study (Vikkelsø 2015), may lead to a less 'positive' research agenda, and a less applicable 'mould'. Yet, insisting on contextualization and ambiguity in the study and theorizing of resilience serves a vital reality check to an otherwise important political agenda.
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