Data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire distributed to nonsupervisory correctional officers employed in six adult and four juvenile facilities. Useable questionnaires were returned by 546 (48.1 percent) of the officers surveyed. Four measures of "side bets" were included in the analysis: marital status, "breadwinner" status, nontransferable skills, and the lack of availability of other jobs. Two indicators measured reciprocity with a Likert-like scale: perceptions of the extent to which the organization valued their contributions and cared about their well-being; and "distributive justice," i.e. whether officers believed they were adequately compensated given their education and training, job experience, effort, and responsibilities. Commitment measures pertained to the officer's emotional response to the organization as a whole and the officer's commitment to stay with the organization. Multivariate OLS regression analysis found that reciprocity had a greater effect than "side bets" on an officer's emotional commitment to the organization; however, "side bets" had a greater effect than reciprocity on commitment to remain in the job. If a prison organization expects commitment from its line officers, then it must demonstrate its support for them by being attentive to their socio-emotional needs. 2 tables, 5 notes, 84 references, and appended table of bivariate relationships among all variables and scale items