Correctional Staff: The Issue of Job Stress

Abstract

Staff perform myriad tasks to help ensure a safe, secure, and humane correctional facility. Correctional staff face many challenges when working in institutional corrections. One of these challenges is job stress, which is defined as feeling psychologically distressed or strained due to work demands or stressors. The job demands-resources model provides a framework for why workplace factors may effect job stress. This model divides the workplace variables into the groups of demands and resources. Job demands place staff under pressure, which can result in higher job stress. Job resources allow staff to focus on the positive aspects of the job and can help buffer staff from job demands, which can result in lower job stress. Additionally, the absence of (or deficiencies in) job resources can become job demands. The major job resources for correctional staff are quality supervision, input into decision-making, and instrumental communication. The major job demands faced by correctional staff are fear of victimization, work-family conflict, and the role stressors of role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload. Reducing fear of victimization, work-family conflict, and role stressors are predicted to decrease job stress. Additionally, the job resources of quality supervision, input into decision-making, and instrumental communication need to be enhanced in order to help reduce job stress among correctional staff. Furthermore, social support, especially supervisory and administrative support need to be raised, as well as providing mental health support for staff and their families to combat correctional staff job stress.