Social and emotional wellbeing among Indigenous Australian correctional officers

Abstract

The workplace challenges of correctional officers have been well documented. Yet little is known about how such stressors impact the wellbeing of correctional officers from minority cultural-subgroups. This study explored Indigenous Australian correctional officers’ social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) when managing workplace adversity. Specifically, the study sought to identify culturally-specific stressors, protective factors and associated response tendencies to gain a more robust understanding of the factors that impact Indigenous officers’ wellbeing in the workplace. In total, 15 Indigenous Australian correctional officers from the Northern Territory participated in the study through focus groups or semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of participant data revealed that Indigenous correctional officers’ SEWB is influenced by four broad categories: cultural connection, morale, social functioning and somatic health. Results are discussed in terms of common themes, future research and implications for assisting the SEWB of Indigenous officers.

Keywords:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
• prison guard
• protective factors
• stress
• wellbeing
• workplace adversity