Correction Officer Burnout

At any given time, a single corrections officer, can expect to be outnumbered by upwards of 400 inmates (Conover, 2011). It can be chilling to work in the midst of hundreds of inmates, some of which initiate attacks and inappropriate relationships. However, other issues have impacted the psychological health and physical safety of the staff. Detrimental factors have included heavy workloads, the prisons physical structure, and a lack of support from both peers and superiors. Each workplace issue has been in addition to role problems, specifically role ambiguity and role conflict (Schaufeli & Peeters, 2011). It is believed that anyone of these undesirable facets of prison should be enough to deter the public from attempting to enter such positions, yet the essay attempts to connect the dysfunctional aspects, expanding on why these prison positions are associated with burnout and frustration. In an attempt to do the profession justice, elements that appear to have encouraged individuals to not only join, but also stay, will be explored.

Additional Reading

In an attempt to address physical prison conditions, Bierie’s (2012) research explored how the conditions influenced the wellbeing of prison staff. There was a specific focus on the impact at the individual level, as well as the ability to function within the occupation (Bierie, 2012). Staff survey data was attained through the Prison Social Climate Survey, which included 114 prisons, and a total of 1,738 operational responses were used in the study (Bierie, 2012). The goal of the survey was to gauge the respondents’ opinion of the prisons physical condition over the previous six months (Bierie, 2012). Based on health issues and apprehension to exert effort at work, it was conc...

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... overarching reason why individuals proceed to take these challenging positions. Whatever the case, the pay and security of these positions have allowed officers to discount public and inmates, who insist that these positions convey poor social status (Schaufeli & Peeters, 2011). In addition, the prison setting has had an emphasis on the individual, opposed to group responsibility, allowing for high levels personal freedom, something that has been prized by some (Conover, 2011; Schaufeli & Peeters, 2011). Similar to the negative aspects, the positives aspects are not extensive or completely explored. Never the less, it may be beneficial to locate the individuals, those who truly want to be part of the prison system. The process must start by increasing pay, increasing minimum requirements, improving the physical conditions of prisons, and establishing clear roles.