Examining the Effect of Emotional Dissonance on Work Stress and Satisfaction With Supervisors Among Correctional Staff

• NCJ Number: 215426
• Journal: Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 290-301
• Author(s): Richard Tewksbury; George E. Higgins
• Date Published: September 2006
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Drawing on data from 228 staff members in 2 Kentucky prisons, this study examined the role of emotional dissonance (when workers experience a conflict between their feelings about their jobs and the feelings their employers require in doing their jobs) and perceived work stress on correctional staff members' job satisfaction.

Abstract

the study found that the existence of emotional dissonance positively affected the existence of work stress among correctional staff members, which was consistent with the theoretical literature on emotional dissonance and role conflict. Work stress in turn affects staff members' satisfaction with their supervisors. Contrary to previous research, however, this study does not support the claim that emotional dissonance is linked with job satisfaction. Apparently, although emotional dissonance is linked to work stress and correctional staff's satisfaction with their supervisors, these conditions do not undermine job satisfaction. Still, emotional dissonance can lead to adverse physical and psychological conditions among staff due to the stress produced. Further, correctional administrators should recognize that emotional dissonance may underlie strained interactions between correctional staff and their supervisors. Study limits and suggestions for future research are discussed. Study data were obtained through surveys administered to all staff working at two medium-security prisons in Kentucky in the spring of 2004. Out of approximately 650 surveys distributed, 228 were returned. In the survey, the emotional dissonance scale consisted of two categories of four items, similar to Adelmann's (1989) Emotional Labor Scale and to Abraham's measures. The work stress measure consisted of six items from Cullen et al. (1985), and the Satisfaction With Supervisor Scale was a subscale from the Spector (1997) job satisfaction measure. 2 tables, 1 figure, 44 references, and appended listing of survey statements used to measure the study variables