Constrained voice and complicated loyalty: Understanding reasons to leave or stay working in the probation service

This article examines the complex reasons why staff choose to remain in or leave the Probation Service in England and Wales, using Hirschman’s Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect (EVL-N) framework as an analytical lens. In the context of major systemic reforms, including the failed privatisation of services and subsequent reunification, the study explores the persistent staffing crisis and its impact on workforce morale, professional identity, and organisational commitment. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with probation staff across a regional case study, the findings highlight constrained voice, organisational dislocation, and heightened responsibilisation as key drivers of dissatisfaction. Many participants described intense workloads, emotional burnout, and limited professional autonomy, yet expressed strong loyalty, not to the organisation, but to a vocational ideal of probation work. This ‘complicated loyalty’ underscores a paradox: while it sustains workforce commitment, it may also mask systemic issues. The research also identifies muted or ineffective channels for staff voice, particularly post-reunification, exacerbated by the service’s integration into the civil service. The article concludes that the EVL-N model offers a valuable framework for understanding public sector workforce dynamics and urges reforms that centre staff voice and well-being to improve retention and service delivery.