ABSTRACT Perhaps one of the most neglected areas of criminological research is the jail and what limited research is available has focused primarily on issues concerning the conditions of confinement within these facilities. Research on jail employees is extremely rare. These persons often must work in an environment that is unstable, uncertain, and unsafe. As a result employee stress and burnout are high, job satisfaction is low, and job turnover becomes a serious problem for jail administrators. The current study employs survey data from a sample of detention officers to assess the effects of anxiety, job-related stress, and job satisfaction on their inclinations to quit. The results show that anxiety is a significant predictor of job-related stress, which is a significant predictor of job dissatisfaction. Job dissatisfaction, in turn, is the strongest predictor of employee's intent to quit.