Civility in the Correctional Workplace

Many people today are aware of the challenges that employers are facing to recruit, hire, and retain quality staff. The correctional workplace is no different. Although looking into the hiring practices of correctional institutions is a worthy cause, this cooperative agreement looks more generally at retaining staff by adding more civility into the correctional workplace.

Workplace incivility describes the subtle and obvious behaviors that are generally rude, discourteous, and suggesting of a lack of respect for others. When unchecked, incivility erodes an organization's culture and adversely affects the well-being of those who are the targets of uncivil behavior.

Workplace incivility needs to be challenged and talked about openly. Knowing the causes of incivility, its consequences, and how to promote civility in the workplace can help correctional leaders and employees build psychologically safe environments where everyone grows and thrives.

In the correctional environment, incivility in the workplace has a far greater consequence than just losing good staff. In the two-part webinar series for this project, NIC Correctional Program Specialist Christopher Smith said, "I think that civility is not just the mere absence of incivility or conflict, but instead it is the intentional effort made toward creating a correctional workplace that is built on the idea that by purposefully lifting each other up, we strive for safer correctional facilities for staff, justice-involved individuals, and the general public. Likewise, incivility is not merely the lack of civility, but it is the workplace that is run with unintentionality or lack of concern toward staff wellness. It is the idea that if you're not lifting people up then by definition you are either pushing them down or allowing them to fall and fail."

Incivility in the correctional workplace can lead to staff abuse of sick leave, alcohol/drug abuse, increase in medical challenges, an increase in mental health concerns, shortened life spans after retiring or leaving the correctional workplace, and an increase in suicide rates. Not to mention the tertiary effect on incarcerated men and women and their rehabilitation rates when they are housed at a facility that has a high level of incivility.

So, what does incivility in a correctional workplace look like? It looks like sexual harassment, the presence of racial bias, the presence of a toxic work environment, bullying of subordinate staff by supervisory staff, or the bullying of coworkers by non-supervisory staff. It can also be normalized or displayed as other forms of disrespect among staff in a meeting or as they pass in a hallway, or it can be rude comments about staff weight or appearance, inappropriate posters on the office wall, or a warden or superintendent that tacitly approves uncivil behavior by allowing it to continue. There are a number of activities that can be used to break fellow staff down.

Leaders and managers play an important role in cultivating civility in the workplace. There are certain leadership and management styles that promote civility and create an organizational culture where employees feel valued and respected. If leaders and managers use effective approaches that raise awareness about the existence and consequences of workplace incivility, they will be better positioned to create a civil climate that fosters a healthy organization.