NCJ Number
199520
Date Published
January 2002
Length
18 pages
Annotation
A survey administered to correctional staff at a midwestern
prison examined the impact of "work-on-family" conflict (employee
brings problems and stress home from work that affect the quality
of family life) and "family-on-work" conflict (family conflicts
and crises affect work performance and behavior) on job
satisfaction.
Abstract
All employees at a maximum-security midwestern prison were
administered a survey designed to assess staff views of the work
environment during the fall of 2000. There were 270 useable
surveys, constituting a response rate of 61 percent to 68
percent. Respondents represented all areas and administrative
levels of the correctional facility. Half of the respondents were certified correctional officers. Seven demographic
characteristics were selected as control variables, because they
have been found to have a significant impact on correctional
staff job satisfaction in past studies. An ordinary least squares
regression equation was computed, with the job satisfaction index
as the dependent variable and the demographic variables, dangerousness, role conflict, role ambiguity, and the two
work-family conflict scales as independent variables. Findings
suggest that time-based work-on-family conflict has a significant
influence on correctional staff job satisfaction, even when
taking into account demographic characteristics and other work
stressors. Apparently the job consumes so much time that it
interferes with family schedules. Family-on-work conflict, on the
other hand, fails to have a significant effect on correctional
staff job satisfaction. The implication of these findings is that corrections administrators should be aware that time-based
work-on-family conflict ultimately decreases the level of job
satisfaction for many correctional workers. The findings also
reinforce the correctional staff literature in concluding that
role ambiguity decreases job satisfaction. Providing a more
supportive work environment that values employee family and
social life could reduce some tension. More flexible and
sensitive employee work schedules could provide further relief.
Instilling better time-management skills so that staff learn to
"work smarter not harder" might also be beneficial. 2 tables and
65 references
Date Published: January 1, 2002
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