Job Satisfaction among Correctional Executives: A Contemporary Portrait of Wardens of State Prisons for Adults

This study examines the nature and distribution of job satisfaction in a national sample of 641 wardens of state prisons for adults. The results indicate that these corrections executives are a highly satisfied occupational group, but there is evidence that job satisfaction among wardens has declined since the late 1980s. Measures of social support in the workplace, including effective communication with staff and support and confidence in subordinates, are important determinants of wardens' job satisfaction. The implications of these findings in the context of corrections' increasing politicization and punitiveness are discussed.