The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding about the police profession's impact on the singular individual, with a focus on roles, regions and emotions. The main question is to understand if and then so, how individuals outside of work will be affected of the profession and professional events. In order to answer this question I carried out six semi-structured in-depth interviews with police officers who worked at the main office in a police region in a midsize city in Sweden. To ensure reliability and allow readers to conduct their own assessments the quotations in this study are anonymous. The analysis of the collected material is based on selected parts of Goffman's theories about dramaturgical perspective as well as selected emotion theories. Those theoretical frameworks are focused to explain, understand and see the consequences for the individual roles, role characters, emotions and the emotional work; which is what this study focuses on. Previous researches has brought inspiration for this study purpose and question, but also given me a deeper understanding of the professionalism of the Police. This study confirms that a certain distinction about the professional role and the individual role is desirable when a small or no personal distinction at all regarding the occupation or workplace can result in stress or burnout. The study shows that Police employees may also be imposed on the front region professionally, when interacting with others when the audience knows the profession of the individual, which results in a lack posterior region where the individual is forced to act upon the audience's expectations of police professionalism. The fact that it is the audience that decides the region and role definition as well as the persona identity of the police together with the social norms and legislation that the police is obliged to act upon it shows that it is hard for the police to step out of the profession and the role of the police even out of duty. The study also shows that the police profession also could be seen thru an emotional aspect where the emotions of the individual both are bought and sold. The emotions of the police could be restricted to the time duty when the police are inclined to act with confidence, respect and self-control. / Syftet med studien är att få en ökad förståelse kring det polisiära yrkets påverkan på den enskilde individen med fokus på roller, regioner samt emotioner. Påverkas individen utanför arbetet av yrket och yrkeshändelser och i så fall hur? För att besvara studiens frågeställning genomfördes sex stycken halvstrukturerade djupintervjuer med poliser som arbetar i yttre tjänst i en mellanstor svensk stad. För att säkerställa reliabiliteten samt tillåta läsarna att genomföra egna bedömningar lyfts anonymiserade och analyserade citat i studiens resultat och analysdel. Analyseringen av materialet sker utifrån valda delar av Goffmans dramaturgiska perspektiv samt valda emotionsteorier. De teoretiska referensramarna fokuserar på att förklara, förstå samt se konsekvenser för individuella roller, rollgestalter, emotioner och det emotionella arbetet utifrån olika faktorer. Tidigare forskning inom ämnesområdet har tillfört både inspiration för denna studies syfte och frågeställning, men även gett en djupare förståelse för det polisiära yrket. Denna studie visar att en viss distinktion kring yrkesrollen och den individuella rollen är önskvärd då en liten eller ingen distinktion kring yrket eller arbetsplatsen kan resultera i både stress och utbrändhet. Polisanställda kan även påtvingas den främre yrkesrollsgestalten under interaktion med andra om publiken får veta individens yrkesroll, detta resulterar i en avsaknad bakre region där individen tvingas agera utifrån publikens polisära egenskapsförväntningar. På grund av att publiken bestämmer region och rollgestalt samt polisförordningens lagar, som inkluderar bestämmelser som även tjänstlediga poliser måste tillämpa, kan en personlighetsförändring upplevas av antingen omgivningen eller av individen själv. Polisyrket ska även ses som ett emotionsarbete där individens känslor både är köpta och sålda. Polisens emotioner är begränsade under arbetstid då poliser ska agera med aktning, utge en förtroendegivande känsla samt ha självkontroll.

The purpose of this study was to analyse how emotions affect prison officers in their daily work. The study seeks to understand how prison officers manage their emotions in the social interactions with clients, and how exercise of authority affects their handling of emotions at work. Formulation of questions that has been answered is how prison officers handle their emotions at work, how they handle their emotions in the social interactions with clients and how they are affected by exercise of authority. Theories that have been applied to this study is Arlie Russell Hochschild and her theory about emotional labor, Michael Foucualt theory about power and Erving Goffman theory about dramaturgy. To answer the purpose of the study, a qualitative research has been used, and six prison officers have been interviewed. The conclusion of the study shows that prison officers handle their emotions through talking with colleagues and manager. It also shows that prison officers are positively affected by exercise of authority. They explained that these policies are made for prison officers and clients safety.