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Do Different Occupational Groups Vary on Attitudes and Work Adjustment in Corrections?

NCJ Number
167477
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 60 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1996) Pages: 45-53
Author(s)
D Robinson; F J Porporino; L Simourd
Date Published
1996
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This is a comparative study of how various categories of correctional staff differ on a range of measures.
Abstract
The study used a sample of employees who participated in a survey conducted by the Correctional Service of Canada. The five sets of measures included in the report and summaries of the results include: (1) Attitudes Toward the Organization: Correctional officers reported the lowest levels of organizational commitment, were less positive in their attitudes toward corrections as a career, perceived the organization as most rigid in terms of organizational change, and were personally less open to change initiated by others; (2) Attitudes Toward Offenders: Correctional officers and labor/support staff were more custody oriented, less likely to endorse rehabilitation, and less desirous of working with people; (3) Job Satisfaction: Front-line correctional staff were the least satisfied and reported the highest levels of stress; (4) Work Orientation: Occupational category explained a smaller proportion of the variance in work orientation relative to the other sets of dependent variables; and (5) Job Performance: These measures are the only dependent variables based on sources other than self-report, and some data are difficult to interpret. Tables, notes, references