Burnout among Icelandic correctional officers: A study on burnout and work related stress

Studies have shown that various organizational and occupational factors can cause stress and burnout among correctional officers. Work related stress is known to have a direct impact on the performance and effectiveness of employees in the workplace. It has also been documented that it has an impact on job satisfaction, increased absenteeism, higher frequency of accidents at work, mental and physical health and even affects the family life of those involved. Finally, stress can lead to burnout. The purpose of this study was to examine if Icelandic correctional officers suffer from burnout and to try to shed a light on which organizational and occupational factors are causing them stress. Sixty eight employees of the Icelandic Prison and Probation Administration participated in the study. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to measure burnout while the Work Stress Scale for Correctional Officers (WSSCO) was used to measure which organizational- and occupational factors were involved. Results revealed that Icelandic correctional officers show symptoms of burnout on all three dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personnal accomplishement); least in emotional exhaustion and most in feelings of decreased personal accomplishment. Workload, role conflict, role ambiguity, inadequate working conditions, perceived threat and negative experiences of communicating with prisoners all had a significant positive correlation with emotional exhaustion.