NCJ Number
85357
Date Published
1982
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The high attrition rate among correctional employees appears related to the general areas of benefits and perceived benefits, supervisory style, management practices and job content, and unionization; steps can be taken to reduce attrition.
Abstract
In 1979, State correctional institutions nationwide employed 121,919 persons, and during that year, more than 29,000 left their jobs. This results in excessive costs for training and loss in quality production due to the large number of inexperienced employees. A study of management practices and working conditions associated with higher levels of attrition shows that higher starting salaries for correctional officers were associated with lower levels of attrition. Further, officer participation in decisions on post assignments, shift assignments, vacation schedules, and overtime assignments contributed to lower attrition rates. Attrition rates were also lower in institutions that employed greater numbers of inmates in prison industries as well as those with single occupancy housing. Unionization of employees was strongly associated with lower attrition rates. Institutions or State prison systems with high employee attrition should assess the causes of attrition and monitor progress in reducing it, make salaries competitive with comparable occupational groups in the State, make starting salaries for supervisory officers not less than 125 percent of the starting salary for correctional officers, permit employees to select the posts and shifts they will work, increase employee involvement in matters affecting their work, and develop alternative work methods to reduce the negative effects of job tasks associated with attrition.