Corrections_Today_March_April_2021_Vol.83_No.2

W hen employees perceive themselves more positively, due to their exposure to training and education, their job performance excels. The work product is completed efficiently and more effectively. As the corrections industry continues to strive for continued growth in professionalism; the position of corrections officer is not just for those who feel they cannot make it in other professions. Sundt, J.L. (2009) mentioned in research, “historically correctional work was viewed as a job of last resort, usually taken after previous job failures or failure in the military.” In James Allen’s 1903 self-help book “As a Man Thin- keth” (and later revised by Arthur R. Pell, Ph.D. in 2008), the foundation is laid upon the premise that each person, in their own thoughts, hold the key to every condition in their life; whether it is a good or bad condition. Each person has the ability to transform their circumstances with patience and intelligence. This transformation may involve the assistance of the organization’s reaction to public opinion, as well as the self-assessment and actions of the employee. Overall, the criminal justice industry is, and always has been, concerned with the public’s perception. Sundt (2009) specifically examined three questions pertaining to the public’s perception: 1) To what extent does the public support prison ex- pansion for the purpose of economic growth? 2) Are members of the public willing to take a job as a correctional officer and what do they see as the most and least attractive features of this work? And finally, 3) What factors influence perceptions of job quality and support for prison expansion? But what about the perceptions of the staff about the criminal justice industry, and more specifically, about themselves? What about the impact self-perception and self-esteem have on the positions held and the impact on the corrections industry? Alavi & Askaripur (2003) found there is a relationship between self-esteem and job satis- faction, as well as other elements within the organization. These elements include employee motivation, job perfor- mance and turnover rates. In most, if not all industries, the majority of allot- ted budgets are used for employee salaries and fringe benefits. In the 2017 and 2018 Training Industry Report,

overall organizations spent 11% of their budget on learn- ing tools and technologies. A review of literature by researchers Asfaw, Argaw, & Bayissa (2015), revealed that in order to be able to sustain effective performance it is important to optimize the contribution of employees to the aims and goals of the organization. The importance of training as a central role of management has been rec- ognized by research studies.” It has been confirmed that training and development activities in which employees had participated brings new potential of employees in performing task and resulted in employee effectiveness (Asfaw et al., 2015).

“The organization-based self-esteem is related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivation, citizenship behavior, in-role performance, and turnover intentions, as well as other important organization-related attitudes and behaviors.”

It has been suggested that self-esteem built around the workplace and experience gained in the organiza- tion where the individual is working has a significant role in shaping the motivation of employees (Pierce & Gardner, 2004). These researchers also stated, “the organization-based self-esteem is related to job satisfac- tion, organizational commitment, motivation, citizenship behavior, in-role performance, and turnover intentions, as well as other important organization-related attitudes and behaviors.” Now more than ever before we see criminal justice degrees being offered in colleges and universities. There is existing research that found students seek criminal justice degrees because they find the “subject matter

Illustration opposite page: scale: istock/wildpixel; cloud: istock/ptasha

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