Being the Good Soldier: Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Commitment Among Correctional Staff

• NCJ Number: 221328
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2008 Pages: 56-68
• Author(s): Eric G. Lambert; Nancy L. Hogan; Marie L. Griffin
• Date Published: January 2008
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The study examined the influence of work environment variables such as organizational commitment, job stress, job involvement, and individual level characteristics on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).

Abstract

The results indicated that organizational commitment and job stress had statistically significant positive effects on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), those pro-social work behaviors in which employees engage that reflect extra effort as well as benefit to the organization. Job involvement, however, was not found to have significant influence on OCB, nor did personal characteristics have any significant impact on OCB. Organizational commitment is a salient antecedent of the OCB, and those individuals who had bonded with the organization were willing to extend efforts to positively impact the organization. Job stress, on the other hand, had a negative relationship with the OCB, and in some cases had negative consequences for the employee’s health and personal relationships, which in turn caused the employees to place blame on the organization for their feelings of stress. Given expanding use of incarceration at local, State, and Federal levels and the ongoing staffing difficulties faced by correctional managers, attention to the nature of corrections work environment is critical. Efforts to enhance employees’ commitment to the organization and reduce stress may very well provide the added benefit of promoting a positive work environment that benefits the individuals, the coworkers, and the broader organization. Equally important, such pro-social work behaviors among employees might influence relations, not just with coworkers, but also with inmates. Findings are discussed in terms of possible policy implications for correctional organizations as well as the need to examine further the reciprocal nature of the employee/employer relationship. The sample consisted of all 200 staff members of a midwestern correctional facility surveyed in fall 2002; the facility is a private maximum-security facility that at the time, housed 460 individuals from 14 and 19 years of age who were adjudicated as adults. Table, appendix, references