Always on Alert: Work-Related Hypervigilance and Employee Outcomes in Corrections

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fritz C ; Guros F ; Hammer LB ; Meier D ; Shepherd B
• Description:
  Correctional officers (CO's) work in an occupation in which potential danger and the possibility of physical confrontations are parts of their everyday work environment. A core task for CO's is maintaining their personal safety as well as the safety of coworkers and inmates. While being receptive to the presence of potential danger and being prepared to respond to incidents is crucial, sustaining this level of alertness over time may be associated with increased stress and strain (Cullen et al, 1985). Therefore, this study examined relationships between work-related hypervigilance and employee outcomes. We defined work-related hypervigilance as an extreme attentiveness to and assessment of the environment for potential danger that goes along with cognitive and physiological arousal. We conceptualized work-related hypervigilance as a distinct experienced stressor that is related to, but separate from, phenomena around perceptions of danger or traumatic stress. We hypothesized that the chronic experience of work-related hypervigilance is associated with increased strain symptoms among CO's. Specifically, the requirement to stay alert may lead to cognitive and physical exhaustion over time (Ganster & Rosen, 2013). The constant screening of the environment for potential danger may also impact CO's nonwork life. For example, they may feel that their work life conflicts with their nonwork life (i.e. work-family conflict), and they may be less likely to mentally distance themselves from work (i.e., psychological detachment) and relax during nonwork time. Therefore, we proposed that chronic levels of hypervigilance would be associated with higher exhaustion, physical symptoms of stress and work-to-family conflict, and lower levels of psychological detachment from work and relaxation during nonwork time. We examined the hypothesized relationships using a sample of correctional officers (N = 1317; response rate 54%) from 14 correctional facilities in one state in the Western United States. Based on site visits of three facilities, interviews with CO's, feedback from researchers in Industrial and Organizational psychology, and past research, we developed a nine-item scale to measure work-related hypervigilance (Sample item: "I had to be on guard to stay safe."). CO's in all 14 institutions then received surveys asking them to report their levels of experienced hypervigilance, exhaustion (Demerouti, Bakker, Vardakou, & Kantas, 2003), physical symptoms (Spector & Jex, 1997), work-to-family conflict (Netemeyer, Boles & McMurrian, 1996), and psychological detachment and relaxation during nonwork time (Sonnentag & Fritz, 2007) along with questions that we included as control variables. Specifically, to test our hypotheses, we used hierarchical ordinary least squares (OLS) regression controlling for facility, security level of inmates, PTSD- like symptoms, veteran status, physical confrontations with inmates, job tenure, and gender. Results indicate that hypervigilance was indeed associated with higher employee exhaustion, physical symptoms of job stress, and work-family conflict, and lower psychological detachment from work and relaxation during non-work time. Thus, our findings indicate that the experience of work-related hypervigilance is associated with a variety of employee outcomes and is worthy of further examination as a perceived stressor in certain occupations, such as corrections, police, or security. By identifying and defining work-related hypervigilance as a work-related experience - as opposed to a clinical diagnosis following a traumatic event, for example - our study may act as a starting point in helping work organizations create policies and interventions to reduce chronic levels of hypervigilance. Additionally, future research may further examine ways to alleviate the potential negative impact of hypervigilance on employee outcomes. Specifically, while hypervigilance may be important for employees while at work, they may find ways to reduce elevated levels of alertness and activation during nonwork time, providing them with a chance to rest and recover. We further suggest for future research to examine the relationships between hypervigilance and employee outcomes over time to better understand how and when the psychological processes involved may affect employee outcomes. Thus, we see this study as a stepping-stone for understanding work-related hypervigilance and its effects on employees in the context of dangerous occupations such as corrections. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Correctional Facilities Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Workplace
• Keywords:
  Correctional Facilities Job Stress Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Psychological Responses PTSD Total Worker Health TWH Work Environment Worker Health Worker Safety Work Experience

  More +
• Publisher:
  American Psychological Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053908
• Citation:
  Work, Stress, and Health 2015: Sustainable Work, Sustainable Health, Sustainable Organizations, The 11th International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health, May 6-9, 2015, Atlanta, Georgia. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2015 May; :1
• Email:
  fritzc@pdx.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20110901
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a27c66d87614655fd4b321a287fa53a767476b991294880f45eee0f5c939e97f92a446ce3d1f1016ed9bdd2139587ea2d6081f28459635326ed46d46c65d9359
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216580/cdc_216580_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 175.90 KB ]