Exploring the gendered nature of work-family conflict on job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among correctional officers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Due to the difficult nature of correctional work, a large body of research has examined factors like job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among correctional officers. Although this research is valuable, there has been limited research examining how correctional work may differentially impact males and females, which is particularly true for work-family conflict (WFC) research. Given the increase in females working in correctional institutions and the barriers and conflict they faced, the current study assesses the gendered nature of strain-based and time-based WFC on job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among male and female correctional officers from two Southwestern state-run prisons. The findings reveal that the effects of WFC were similar and different in some ways for male and female correctional officers. Specifically, strain-based WFC was a significant predictor of job stress for male and female correctional officers, whereas strain-based and time-based WFC was only significant for male correctional officers. Finally, neither dimension of WFC was related to organizational commitment. These findings are contextualized and explored against a backdrop of research on WFC and gender.