Effect of "Care" From Immediate Supervisors on Correctional Employees

• NCJ Number: 223926
• Journal: Corrections Compendium Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2008 Pages: 1-2,4,26,28
• Author(s): Kelly Cheeseman Dial; R. Alan Thompson; W. Wesley Johnson
• Date Published: May 2008
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the effect of first-line supervisor’s “care” (concern for overall employee well-being), or lack of care, on correctional employees’ perceptions of their workplace.

Abstract

The study found that correctional employees who reported higher levels of care from immediate supervisors had higher levels of job satisfaction. Care from immediate supervisors, however, was not a significant predictor of work stress. This suggests that other factors, such as role conflict and job danger, may be more directly related to stress at work. Care from immediate supervisors in the context of stressful features inherent in the job, therefore, may have the effect of helping to maintain employee job satisfaction and prevent employee turnover. Another finding was that female employees were less likely than male employees to report that supervisors cared about them as individuals. Currently, there are no correctional agencies providing training sessions separately for males and females. Having training sessions that deal with gender-related issues could better prepare female correctional officers for managing the distinctive challenges they may face in their jobs. Study data were collected through surveys administered to correctional staff who were attending regional in-service training for a prison system in the South. Out of a total of 630 questionnaires distributed, 501 were completed and returned (79.5-percent response rate). The sample was representative of the larger population of correctional officers employed by the correctional agency. The key survey question for this study asked respondents to circle all those they felt cared about them as individuals, including the correctional agency, current prison administration, immediate supervisors, and coworkers. A binary variable was created in which those who felt immediate supervisors did not care about them were coded 0, and respondents who noted an immediate supervisor cared about them were coded as 1. 3 tables and 25 references