Navigating the Need for Mandatory Overtime and a Healthy Work-Life Balance in Corrections
Mark Cowley
With labor shortages and growing inmate populations, enforced mandatory overtime can add additional mental health pressures to already strained corrections officers. Without intentionally working towards a healthy work-life balance, correctional officers can become prisoners of the same system they are hired to protect.
Shortages are commonplace in every industry right now. Whether it is staff or materials, companies all over the country are struggling to retain employees and keep business operations moving smoothly. Compensation for low staffing is something each industry handles differently. In corrections, where short staffing is becoming a crisis, mandatory overtime is used to ensure shifts are covered. Not only does short staffing threaten the health of correctional facilities, but it also threatens the mental health of the correctional officers that may be spending more time with detainees than with their own families.
Correctional officer mental health is a complex, deadly crisis that is rippling across the corrections industry. An industry that has benefited from the unspoken rule of “do not show weakness or vulnerability,” corrections is now placing serious reliance on the same individuals that don’t have a support system to cope with the intense mental demands of the profession. Understanding the mental health effects of mandatory overtime work can help officers and correctional facility staff empathize with their teammates and hold each other accountable for a healthy work-life balance.
The Impact of Overtime Work
Everyone in corrections knows that the job requires high levels of alertness to ensure all safety and compliance tasks are completed thoroughly. When holdovers or mandatory call-back-days are enforced, individuals are required to complete back-to-back shifts, giving little to no time between shifts to rest and recharge. Without adequate time between shifts, officers may be asked to complete tasks without 100% alertness or focus, putting themselves and the facility at risk. Not only does this risk the officer’s well-being and the safety of the entire facility, but it could result in short-cutting procedures, incomplete tasks and inaccurately reported events.
Working on mental overdrive can be dangerous. Most 9-5 employees can’t relate to the back-to-back 12-hour shifts that keep corrections officers away from their families and friends. The time that officers have off work needs to be utilized wisely. Whether that’s catching up on sleep or connecting with loved ones, it gives the phrase “time is precious” a whole new meaning.
Adding a New Meaning to “Separation of Church and State”
Work-life balance is critical for this profession. Unlike many jobs, correctional officers don’t have the ability to turn off their work-mode. It’s impossible to jump back and forth between mindsets at the flip of a switch when work can entail violence and risk to safety. For example, you’d assume that an officer who just finished a 12-hour shift would be begging to go home and relax on the couch with his or her family. What many would forget to assume is how their shift was. Being grumpy from work isn’t unique to corrections, but imagine if the officer witnessed a gang-rivalry fight break out between detainees who beat each other until the rec room floor was flooded in red and later watched one of the incarcerated carried out in a body bag? It’s hard to imagine that a couch and a movie would provide immediate relief to the stress that is experienced after witnessing an event like that.
The phrase “separation of church and state” is often used when describing two relationships that often overlap but shouldn’t. The life inside of a correctional facility, working as
a corrections officer, is staggeringly different from the life of a husband, wife, parent or friend. Officers should keep this phrase in mind when balancing roles. If a break between work and home is required to decompress and re-assimilate into their ‘home selves’, officers should practice “separation of church and state” and take one. Every officer is different but drawing the line between work and home is critical for a healthy balance. While it might take practice and a support system, officers should prioritize setting this boundary to ensure they can not only function at the highest level at work but be the best version of themselves at home.
Add Intention to the Balance
Any employee that is fully invested in their job is a phenomenal asset to any team. Officers that are committed to their work and willing to make sacrifices to get the job done are highly valued. Nonetheless, it’s easy for many of those superstar officers to overcommit themselves to the title. When given the choice between job and home, officers should ensure their priorities align with what is best for their mental health, not the health of the facility. Being fully invested in the job doesn’t mean officers should have to miss out on every family gathering or birthday. Re-investing themselves and their time takes mental toughness. By creating a deliberate differentiation between work and personal life, officers are forced to make decisions surrounding what is important to them and how they can make enough time to fit it all in.
If mandatory overtime falls on the date of a critical family event, officers must find a way to intentionally divide their attention into each of these important pieces. Maybe this looks like using a break to video chat with your child before a game or call on the phone each night before bed and/or going to school. While this is obviously not a perfect solution, even a glimpse of home during a long shift is better than nothing at all.
Engage in Activities that Spark Joy
While coming home to family after a long shift is a reality for many officers, it isn’t the case for all. For those that don’t spend their time off with family and friends, finding another activity can be helpful to keep grounded in the community. Working with the incarcerated constantly, it can be easy for officers to develop a warped view of the realities of their community. Staying connected with the community and engaging in regular activities can help officers balance their perspectives and promote positive mental health. Whether it’s working with youth sports or meeting with the local church group, finding something that matches their interests can help officers find a community of support outside of the facility and recharge their batteries before the next shift.
The Struggle
Many officers struggle to cope with the reasoning behind enforced mandatory overtime, which I completely understand. I also understand the struggles with employee retention that facilities around the country are experiencing. Overall, it’s an incredibly complex issue that the industry is addressing.
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the officer mental health crisis, addressing overtime conditions can help officers prioritize their balance and do whatever is best for them to recharge.
While many facilities assess their strategies to support officers, technological investments can be an opportunity to minimize those pressures on stretched teams. By digitizing records, cell checks, surveillance and detainee tracking, officers can shift time to complete their other required tasks. Saving time on paperwork and rounds can help officers put more time into thoroughness and diligence. It can also lead to safer facilities and reduce overtime burnout. There are many approaches to supporting a healthy work-life balance but increasing officer job satisfaction is a pretty great place for administrators to start.
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Mark Cowley, Director of Jail Operations, is a member of the Jail Operations Team for GUARDIAN RFID, a global leader in inmate tracking and officer experience platforms (OXPs). He is a retired Captain from Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, in Blackfoot, ID. Previously, he served as a jail administrator for 15 years and worked 34 years collectively for the Sheriff’s Office. As Captain, he oversaw patrol operations, dispatch, as well as the county jail. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy #225, the Northwestern University Police School of Staff and Command and holds both an advanced and management certificate with the Idaho Peace Officers Standards & Training. For more information, he can be reached at mark.cowley@guardianrfid.com.
