Burnout Among Prison Caseworkers and Corrections Officers

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to compare burnout between prison caseworkers and correctional officers and examine reasons for the high turnover of caseworkers. The study was conducted through surveys at a maximum/medium men's prison and at an all security level women's prison in the Midwest. By using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, it was found that there was a significantly higher level of burnout for prison caseworkers than correctional officers. The perceived three main reasons for high turnover of prison caseworkers were low salaries, lack of support from management, and stress which leads to burnout. State prison officials can use this information to help minimize conditions that lead to burnout and turnover of trained caseworkers.

Key Words:

• Prison caseworkers
• prison correctional officers
• burnout
• turnover
• stress