Whenever I come across well-functioning correctional staff, I ask them about the “secret of their success.” Here is some of what I’ve heard over the years. It is divided in three categories which correspond to the three areas Desert Waters Correctional Outreach targets in its mission — the occupational, personal and family well-being of corrections staff.
Occupational
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- Create an atmosphere of order and authority emanating from your presence.
- Exercise fairness and self-control when confronting.
- Aim to leave a trail of positives behind you daily. Spread words of affirmation and encouragement. Point out people’s progress, no matter how small.
- Treat everybody with respect.
- Remember that offenders are human too, regardless of how some of them behave. Treat them as human beings. Appeal to their craving for dignity.
- At the end of your shift, think of one thing you could have done better. Resolve to put that improvement to practice at the next opportunity. Then leave the issue behind as you transition to home life.
- Reject the “machismo” mentality that kindness is weakness. Kindness is an expression of inner strength.
- Avoid backstabbing and spreading negative rumors. If you absolutely have to bring up a negative issue about coworkers, also mention positive things about them.
- Never retaliate against offenders or coworkers. Instead, go through appropriate channels or resolve issues within yourself with the help of your support system.
- Remind yourself that you are making a difference, impacting hundreds, even thousands of people, during the course of your career.
Personal
- Zero in on possibilities. Train yourself to look for the upside, the positive aspects in everything. Resolve to turn any manure that life hands to you into fertilizer.
- Acknowledge reality—do not minimize, rationalize or pretend something is not so. Tell yourself the truth.
- Remember that even big, tough correctional workers get negatively affected by what they experience on the job. When that happens, get yourself competent help.
- When away from work, give yourself permission to process the job’s impact on you. Acknowledge what’s going on within you by observing your thoughts and emotions, and talking or writing about them. Vent, take responsibility for your behavior, encourage yourself, and/or come up with a plan to address issues. If you keep “stuffing” negative emotional reactions, no matter how big your “trash compactor” is, you will eventually run out of space and spill over.
- Make sure you have a healthy downtime at the end of your shift to help you re-enter the “free world.”
- Have fun and play regularly, especially outdoors.
- Beware of sweeping negative generalizations and prejudices about people. Aim to look at each person with a fresh set of eyes. You may be pleasantly surprised. There ARE good people out there. And even difficult people have good traits.
- You are more than your job. As you go through life invest in areas outside of work—family, hobbies, leisure activities, volunteering, spiritual pursuits.
- Work toward building and maintaining healthy support networks that include family, friends and perhaps even helping professionals.
Family
- Remember, your family members are your most important support system. Continue to invest in these relationships and work to maintain them. Again, bear in mind the law of sowing and reaping. Sow commitment, faithfulness and good will if that is what you want to reap later on.
- Before you make choices, think ahead about how they may impact your family and your relationship with them.
- Learn to work through problems together with loved ones, instead of giving up or aggressing against them.
- Share your thoughts and feelings with your significant others. This helps you maintain a strong connection with them. When you confide in them about work experiences, skip gruesome details. However, share enough about your work life to avoid becoming estranged from them over time.
About the author
Caterina G. Spinaris Tudor, Ph.D., LPC is the Executive Director of Desert Waters Correctional Outreach, a nonprofit dedicated to the well-being of correctional staff and their families.
© Caterina Spinaris Tudor