Measuring Correlates of the Correctional Officer Work Environment Via the Work Experiences Questionnaire: A Descriptive Study

• In Event: Job Satisfaction and Perceptions of Well-Being Among Correctional Staff

Abstract

While there has been significant research examining certain facets of the correctional officer work environment, such as job satisfaction, stress, organizational commitment and turnover, little research has explored other facets, some of which most correctional administrators have been reluctant to allow outside researchers to examine. This research addresses that gap in the literature through the development of the Work Experiences Questionnaire (WEQ), an instrument designed to measure various correlates of correctional officers’ work environment, including staff willingness to report wrongful behavior they have direct evidence of and that has harmed the public, staff, inmates, or detainees. After obtaining the permission of both the Jail Director and Public Safety Commissioner of a large urban jail in central Kentucky, the instructor led research team, consisting primarily of criminal justice graduate students enrolled in a statistics class, successfully administered the WEQ to 236 sworn staff at the jail, obtaining a 94% response rate. After coding, cleaning and validating the data, the instructor used the WEQ data to teach the students both quantitative and qualitative analyses. This student-led presentation will discuss the initial findings and reporting of the WEQ.

Authors

• Joseph Ellis, Eastern Kentucky University

• Ryan A. Phillips, Eastern Kentucky University

• Kendahl Granger, Eastern Kentucky University

• Cameron Brown, Eastern Kentucky University

• Tyler Shuplinkov, Eastern Kentucky University

• Carlene Mallory, Eastern Kentucky University

• Jordan Henson, Eastern Kentucky University

• James Wells, Eastern Kentucky University

• Kevin I. Minor, Eastern Kentucky University

• Eric Lambert, The University of Mississippi