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In recent years there has been a notable increase in research on the ways that correctional occupational stressors can erode the health of correctional employees (Ferdik & Smith, 2017). This increase parallels correctional administrators' and other stakeholders' heightened concerns regarding relationships between occupational stressors and employees' health, performance, and work engagement.
These concerns were articulated in a 2017 resolution of the American Correctional Association called the ACA Resolution Supporting Correctional Employee Wellness 2017-1 (www.aca.org). This resolution states that the adverse impact of the job on correctional employees' wellness is a critical issue that has reached crisis proportions because the occupational risks inherent to the profession increase the health risks for correctional employees. The resolution also posits that the nature of the correctional environment can be a causative factor in the development of high-risk behaviors, such as alcohol abuse. The resolution further adds that traumatic events in the correctional workplace may result in employees succumbing to health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In this article, research evidence is reviewed regarding the consequences of working in the highly stressful conditions of corrections (Lerman, 2017; Spinaris & Brocato, 2019) and the possible solutions for lessening the toxic effects of these stressors.
Occupational Stressors in Corrections
It has been noted that "few other organizations are charged with the central task of supervising and securing an unwilling and potentially violent population" (Armstrong & Griffin, 2004).
Correctional occupational stressors can be conceptualized as falling in three major categories:
* operational stressors,
* organizational stressors, and
* traumatic stressors.
These stressors occur repeatedly, and at times even simultaneously, throughout the career of correctional employees.
Operational Stressors
Operational stressors refer to the technical aspects of correctional operations, including offender overcrowding, understaffing, shift work, mandatory overtime, equipment issues, noise, unclean space, temperature extremes, high workload, low job autonomy, and low job variety.
Clutter or dirty space, overcrowding, and noise in correctional facilities were associated with higher rates of sick-leave use, physical and psychological symptoms, and substance use among correctional officers (COs) and supervisors (Bierie, 2012). Job posts characterized by high demands, low control, and low social support were associated with COs' increased psychological distress, job dissatisfaction, negative emotions, and a negative outlook (Dollard & Winefield, 1998).
Organizational Stressors
Organizational stressors refer to...