Abstract
Training new Correctional Officers (COs) is a very important task. It has been noted that most Staff Training Academies (STA) and correctional organizations fall short of thoroughly explaining and training COs regarding the difficulties of working in an unpredictable and often violent environment, as well as regarding the negative side effects on their mental health and overall wellbeing. In addition, training academies may not provide information regarding what resources and other helpful tools are important in minimalizing the toll that working in this type of environment may cause (Lambert & Hogan, 2018). Studies have found that COs are likely to experience much higher levels of job stress when compared to other workers in many other occupational fields (Lambert & Hogan, 2018). In addition, COs are likely to experience higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), secondary trauma, job dissatisfaction, poorer mental health, and exposure to violence and assaults (Armstrong & Griffin, 2004). Studies suggest that effective stress management programs for COs are recommended to focus on developing more autonomy, control, flexibility, and decision-making authority in their everyday work to combat with their high stress work environment (Lambert et al., 2020). When COs are experiencing increased stress and burnout this results in higher rates of errors, accidents, and safety incidents (Armstrong et al., 2015). The following presentation hopes to provide new COs resources, coping skills, and various avenues they can take to help alleviate job stress and burnout they may experience while working in a correctional setting.