Research Note – Strain-Based Work-Family Conflict and its Relationship with Perceptions of Distributive and Procedural Justice among Correctional Staff

Abstract

Fairness and justice are valued concepts throughout the entire criminal justice system, and they do not resonate any less with employees in the field of corrections. Distributive and procedural justice, two dimensions of organizational justice, were postulated to have salient outcomes for correctional staff. While a growing number of studies have examined the effects of distributive and procedural justice, their effects have not been fully explored. Strain-based work-family conflict occurs when conflict at work spills over and has a detrimental effect on home life. Hierarchical regression analysis of two different surveys of correctional staff, one at a private correctional facility for juveniles run on behalf of the state and another at an adult public state-run correctional facility, indicated that both distributive justice and procedural justice had negative relationships with strain-based work-family conflict.