NCJ Number
218324
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 43 Issue: 3 Dated: 2006 Pages: 19-34
Date Published
2006
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study compared occupational burnout between prison caseworkers and correctional officers and examined reasons for the high turnover of caseworkers.
Abstract
The findings show that prison caseworkers have higher levels of burnout than correctional officers, with "burnout" defined as impersonal, negative, and cynical evaluations of self and others in occupations that involve intensive interactions with other people. Burnout led to a greater rate of turnover in caseworkers compared to correctional officers. The caseworkers in the two prisons studied identified the following main reasons for leaving the prison or the profession: the need for more money (98 percent), lack of support from management (60 percent), and stress and burnout (24 percent). Suggestions for reducing burnout for caseworkers are to fill vacant positions, keep caseloads manageable, provide stress-management training, increase salaries to be competitive with the private sector, and improve communication between caseworkers and management/policymakers. The study involved 42 caseworkers and 227 correctional staff employed in 1 prison for men and 1 prison for women in a Midwestern State. A questionnaire was developed and administered to obtain demographic information and determine the presence of burnout. Burnout among caseworkers and correctional officers was measured with an instrument developed by Maslach and Jackson (1981). 2 tables and 26 references