NCJ Number
188610
Journal
Corrections Management Quarterly Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2001 Pages: 68-78
Date Published
2001
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This cohort study focused on the perceptions of correctional employees regarding their participation in decision making and the relationship between organizational stress, physical stress, and thoughts about quitting the job.
Abstract
A purposive sample of employees was selected from a private, minimum-security correctional institution in the southern region of the United States in 1990 and again in 1997. In 1990, of the 70 full-time correctional personnel employed at the institution, 51 responded (73-percent response rate). In 1997, the number of correctional personnel increased to 96, with 50 percent responding. A questionnaire was used to examine the influence of occupational and physical stress on private institution correctional officers; participative management practices; and a variety of demographic variables on the dependent variable ("thoughts about quitting one's job"). Findings showed that after 7 years, the reasons why people considered quitting their jobs were similar. The most powerful predictor in both models was the amount of organizational stress experienced by the employees. As organizational stress increased, participants were more likely to think about terminating employment. Another significant variable was the atmosphere for participation. The greater the perception that respondents had about being able to participate in decision making within the institution, the less they thought about leaving. 108 references