An attorney’s emotional competence and the experiencing of emotions in court proceedings

Odvetniki se pri svojem dinamičnem delu osredotočajo na potrebe in interese posamezne stranke. Izpostavljenost stresu in delovnim obremenitvam je velika, kar se odraža pri zadovoljstvu z delom in splošnem počutju. Po naravi stvari se srečujejo z mnogimi situacijami, ki prebujajo različna čustvena stanja. V magistrskem delu smo preučevali doživljanje čustev odvetnikov. Osredotočeni smo bili na zavedanje doživljanja čustev in čustvenih stanj pri opravljanju odvetniškega poklica predvsem v sodnih postopkih in posledičnem odražanju v zasebnem življenju. Namen naše raziskave je bil pridobiti tudi vpogled v področje čustvenih kompetenc odvetnika. V raziskavi je sodelovalo šest udeležencev (tri predstavnice ženskega spola in trije predstavniki moškega spola), ki opravljajo odvetniški poklic najmanj pet in največ petnajst let. Izbrali smo fenomenološko metodo raziskovalnega pristopa in podatke pridobili s pomočjo vnaprej pripravljenega polstrukturiranega intervjuja. Na podlagi opravljene raziskave lažje razumemo področje doživljanja čustev in zavedanja čustvenih stanj pri predstavnikih odvetniškega poklica. Analiza rezultatov je pokazala, da v okviru naše raziskave ne moremo govoriti o tem, da odvetniki kljub opravljanju poklica, ki je bolj razumsko naravnan, ne doživljajo čustev oziroma da se svojih čustvenih stanj ne zavedajo. Delo je čustveno zelo naporno in obremenjujoče. Udeleženci naše raziskave se najpogosteje srečujejo z občutki razburjenosti, utrujenosti, občasno pa tudi jeze na stranko. Zaradi intenzitete in pogostosti doživljanja čustvenih stanj so oblikovali njim lasten tehnični pristop. Vsebine primerov so se jih v začetku poklicne kariere močno dotaknile, sčasoma pa so spremenili dojemanje obravnavnih primerov. Ugotovili smo, da med čustvenimi kompetencami pri udeležencih kot razvita najbolj prevladuje vzajemno socialno reševanje problemov (sodelovanje z drugimi). Večina udeležencev ima manj razvito čustveno kompetenco, zmožnost čustvene umiritve, kar se pri večini udeležencev odraža na način, da se lastnim notranjim doživljanjem zaradi preobilice dela ne posvečajo in da občasno nekontrolirano čustveno izbruhnejo.In their dynamic work, attorneys focus on the needs and interests of individual clients. There is a big exposure to stress and workload, which is reflected in job satisfaction and general well-being. By the nature of things, they encounter many situations that awaken different emotional states. In the master’s thesis, we studied the experiencing of emotions by attorneys. We focused on the awareness and emotional states in the practice of attorney profession, especially in court proceedings, and the consequent reflection in private life. The purpose of our research was to also obtain an insight into the area of attorney’s emotional competences. Six participants (three representatives of female gender and three representatives of male gender) who have been practising as lawyers for a minimum of five years, and a maximum of 15 years, took part in the study. We chose the phenomenological method of research approach and collected the data through a pre-prepared semi-structured interview. Based on the research conducted, it is easier for us to understand the field of experiencing of emotions and the awareness of emotional states among representatives of attorney profession. The analysis of results has shown that, within the frame of our research, we cannot say that attorneys, despite their practising of profession being more rationally oriented, do not experience emotions or are not aware of their emotional states. The work is emotionally very straining and stressful. Participants in our research most often experience feelings of agitation, fatigue and, occasionally, anger at the client. Due to intensity and frequency of experiencing emotional states, they have developed their own technical approach. At the start of their professional careers, they were strongly affected by the subject matter of the cases early but have over time changed their perception of the cases dealt with. We found that among emotional competences, reciprocal social problem-solving (cooperation with others) was the most prevalent as developed in the participants. Most have a less developed emotional competence - the ability of emotional calming, which is reflected in not paying attention to own inner experiences due to work overload, and occasional emotional outbursts