Participative management and correctional personnel: A study of the perceived atmosphere for participation in correctional decision making and its impact on employee stress and thoughts about quitting

Participatory management has been identified in the empirical literature as a technique to alleviate job related stress in criminal justice organizations. Although many advantages have been noted, few criminal justice agencies have developed programs to capitalize on the benefits of employee participation in decision making. This article focuses on the perceptions of correctional officers regarding their participation in decision making and the relationship between organizational stress, physical stress, and thoughts about quitting the job. Four hundred eighty-six employees were surveyed from seven correctional institutions in the Southeast United States. A structural model, which explained 31 percent of the variation, showed that as employee participation increased, physical and occupational stress decreased. Thoughts about quitting were associated with higher levels of physical stress, occupational stress, and the perception of a negative atmosphere for participation. The results lend support for the use and development of participatory management programs in the field of corrections. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.