What judges think about the meaning of their work

Abstract

Although there have been studies about the meaning of work in fields such as health and education, there is a lack of research about the work of judges. In order to fill this gap, this article used the dimensions centrality (values and behavioural aspects comparing work and other spheres of life such as family, religion, and leisure), social norms (rights and duties), objectives, and results valued at work, to describe the meaning of work for judges. Twenty judges in Brazilian state courts of first instance were interviewed using semi-structured interview script. Data were analysed using textual and content analysis. The results showed that there is no consensus on the centrality of work, in respect of either time or the work / life balance, although most interviewees stated that the family is a priority dimension, followed by work and religion. The judges interviewed held the social norm that work is more of a duty than a right. Although feelings of frustration and happiness are counterbalanced among the judges interviewed, research data converge on the positive conclusion that work is seen as a value-generating activity for society.

Judiciaries’ modernisation through electronic lawsuits: Employees’ perceptions from the Brazil and Argentina federal justice services

“…Hence, twelve people were interviewed until no newer concepts were found and, then, the last two interviews were conducted to confirm that no other relevant information was missing. This process was similar to the one conducted by Silva et al (2019), where saturation point, when respondents begin to repeat the same answers, occurred after the thirteenth interview.…”

“…The major changes include modernisation, management improvement, better service offer, and generation of statistical data and performance indicators (Andrade, 2009). A recent study shows that Brazilian judges are concerned about the excessive demands on the courts, which can cause work overload, generate frustration and lack of motivation (Silva et al, 2019). As a solution, IS may counteract the daunting administrative task faced at courts in their workload management (Guimarães et al, 2011).…”

“…The judiciary has the responsibility to solve conflicts in difficult cases and to applicate the law impartially and fairly in a determined judicial system (Martinez-Villa and Machin-Mastromatteo, 2016). Judges' work is directly linked to citizens' desire to resolve litigation and bring about social peace (Silva et al, 2019). Currently, justice has a substantial prevalence in the Sustainable Development Goals documentation (Heeks and Renken, 2018), which shows the integration of justice and sustainability.…”

“…Some investigations show that the importance of IS in courts has increased (Sousa and Guimarães, 2017) as they are institutionalized and ordinarily used with a high level of acceptance (Luzuriaga and Cechich, 2011). Moreover, previous studies show that IS positively influence performance measures in courts, such as efficiency, efficacy, effectiveness, and accountability (Joia, 2008(Joia, , 2009, while the use of new ICT may bring users closer to the judiciary (Silva et al, 2019). This highlights the relevance of IS and ICT implementation in other courts and judiciaries, mainly those that are struggling with similar management problems (Guimarães et al, 2011).…”

Evaluación del valor de la tecnología de información (TI) en el sector público: un estudio entre Argentina y Brasil en el servicio de justicia federal

“…La importancia de la TI en los tribunales ha aumentado (Sousa & Guimarães, 2017) a medida que la TI se institucionaliza (Luzuriaga & Cechich, 2011). La TI influye positivamente en medidas de desempeño de tribunales (Joia, 2008), mientras que puede acercar el servicio a los usuarios (Silva, Guimarães & Sousa, 2019). No obstante, los tribunales generalmente tienen pocas competencias de gestión (Busetti & Vecchi, 2018).…”