Den andra chansen? Institutionella normer och tidigare dömdas inkludering på arbetsmarknaden : En kvalitativ studie om risk, tillit och legitimitet i rekryteringsprocesser

Sammanfattning

This study examines how recruiters within the retail sector reason about employability in relation to candidates with criminal records. The aim of the study is to analyze how norms about risk, trust, and organizational perceptions influence recruitment assessments and opportunities for labor market inclusion. The study is based on a qualitative approach, where semi-structured interviews were conducted with recruiting managers within the retail sector. To further explore how assessments are formed in specific situations, vignettes were also used during the interviews. The empirical material was analyzed through a neo-institutional perspective as well as theories of stigma and labeling. The findings show that assessments of employability are not based solely on formal qualifications and competencies, but are also shaped by implicit norms and perceptions regarding trustworthiness, stability, and social suitability. The study shows that recruitment is a process marked by uncertainty, in which assessments of risk and trust become central in evaluating candidates. Candidates with criminal records are often required to demonstrate change, stability, and credibility to a greater extent than other candidates in order to be perceived as employable. The study also shows that organizational demands for legitimacy and socially defensible decisions influence recruiters' room for maneuver and contribute to the reproduction of established norms within recruitment practices. Overall, the study highlights how labor market inclusion appears to be conditional, where recruiter’s assessment of the employability of candidates with criminal records navigates between organizational perceptions of risk and implicit norms in order to be regarded as employable. Keywords: criminal record, employability, recruitment, labor market inclusion, stigma, risk, trust, neo-institutional theory, retail sector.