Testing the Job Demands-Resources Model with Organizational Trust among Prison Staff

• Author: David May,Eric G. Lambert,Linda D. Keena,Stacy H. Haynes,Patricia A. Doty
• DOI: 10.1177/07340168221076789
• Published date: 01 June 2022
• Date: 01 June 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Testing the Job

Demands-Resources Model

with Organizational Trust

among Prison Staff

Linda D. Keena

1

, Eric G. Lambert

2

,

Stacy H. Haynes

3

, David May

3

,

and Patricia A. Doty

1

Abstract

Trust is an essential component of effective organizations and may be especially important in cor-

rections because of the unique challenges this work environment presents. In corrections, trust

in both supervisors and the administration is critical to ensuring the safety and security of staff,

inmates, and the community. Previous research has revealed important implications of organiza-

tional trust, but less is known about t he workplace factors that shape organizational trust.

Scholars have divided these workplace factors into job demands and job resources. Using data

from 322 correctional staff (both custodial and non-custodial staff) working at a large prison in

the Southern United States, this study tested the job demands-resources model on two types of

organizational trust –supervisor trust and administration trust. Specifically, we examined three

job demands –role ambiguity, fear of being victimized at work, and role overload –and three

job resources –job variety, quality training, and autonomy. Ordinar y Least Squares regression

results showed that workplace variables predicted both types of organizational trust and were gen-

erally stronger predictors than were personal attributes. Moreover, job resources played a greater

role than job demands in shaping both supervisor and administration trust.

Keywords

job demands-resources model, prison staff, organizational trust, supervisor trust,

administration trust

1

Department of Legal Studies, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States

2

Department of Criminal Justice, The University of Nevada, Reno, United States

3

Department of Sociology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, United States

Corresponding Author:

Linda D. Keena, Department of Legal Studies, M306 Mayes Hall, P.O. Box 1848, The University of Mississippi, University,

Mississippi 38677, United States.

Email: ldkeena@olemiss.edu

Article

Criminal Justice Review

2022, Vol. 47(2) 148–166

© 2022 Georgia State University

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/07340168221076789

journals.sagepub.com/home/cjr

In the 21

st

century, loyalty to an employer is no longer assumed. Today’s workforce expects reci-

procity. According to the norm of reciprocity, people tend to repay good-with-good and

bad-with-bad (Gervasi et al., 2021). Without an appreciation of this expectation, however, employers

may face a workforce crisis. Studies of organizational trust, defined as an employee’s global evalu-

ation of an organization’s trustworthiness (Tan & Tan, 2000), provide an important avenue for

employers to gain insight into the most effective ways to retain a stable workforce and enhance

the ability to meet organizational goals. Organizational trust refers to the feeling that the members

of the employing organization will keep their promises and act in ways that are beneficial or, at

the very least, not detrimental to the employee providing that trust (Lambert et al., 2020a; Tan &

Tan, 2000). Although there are several types of organizational trust, supervisor trust and administra-

tion trust have arguably received the most attention (Lambert et al., 2020a; Robertson et al., 2013).

Supervisor trust is the belief that the supervisor will be honest and look out for the well-being of those

they supervise. Administration trust is the belief that the administrators (i.e., management) will act

with integrity and make decisions that benefit (or reduce harm to) employees (Khany & Tazik,

2016; Lambert et al., 2020a). Research has demonstrated that supervisor and administration trust

have important outcomes for both staff and prison administrators (Kane et al., 1983; Lambert &

Hogan, 2009; Lambert et al., 2008a; Lambert et al., 2008b; Lambert et al., 2020a; Liou, 1995).

Less is known, however, about the factors that predict these forms of organizational trust. The

purpose of the current study was to address this shortcoming using data from 322 correctional

staff working at a large prison in the Southern United States.

Working as a correctional officer requires levels of trust unlike most professions outside of law

enforcement and the military. Correctional officers are almost always outnumbered by inmates

and are regularly responsible for ensuring that inmates comply with the rules, even when inmates

might not want to do so. These interactions often occur in locations where the officer has no

fellow officer physically present. Thus, it is imperative that officers trust both their supervisors

and the administration to have their best interests and welfare in mind. This trust is essential, both

in terms of having confidence someone will be there to assist them when needed, and confidence

their direct supervisors are adequately representing their interests to their administrative leaders,

who may not be as acutely aware of the dangers faced by officers. Additionally, because of the

unique experiences that correctional officers face daily (e.g., discovering suicide victims hanging

in their cells, having feces and/or urine thrown at them as part of their daily activities), officers

often are forced to rely on one another as sounding boards for stress relief. The ability to trust super-

visors and the administration is essential in these situations and thus may be more important for cor-

rections than other professions.

In this study, we defined trust as a feeling that the entity being trusted will act in the best inter-

ests of the trustor and will be honest in what was promised (Lambert et al., 2020a; Robertson et al.,

2013). Further, we measured organizational trust from the perspective of the correctional staff

member –in other words, we measured perceptions of trust from the trustor’s point of view.

We believe that a lack of trust will hinder the work quality of prison staff and reduce the

overall effectiveness of the work environment. Research had demonstrated that having trust in a

correctional environment may mitigate administrative challenges. For example, prison staff who

trust the organization demonstrate lower levels of job burnout (Lambert et al., 2012).

Additionally, those who mistrust and are not supported by other officers and their superiors are

less willing to intervene to stop deviant behaviors committed by their co-workers (Worley et al.,

2018). The exploratory study presented here used the job demands-resources model to examine

how workplace variables –role ambiguity, fear of being victimized at work, role overload, job

variety, quality training, and job autonomy –are associated with both supervisor and administra-

tion trust.

Keena et al. 149