ABSTRACT

Correctional officers (COs) in the United States have one of the highest rates of injury and illness among all other occupations. This hidden workforce faces increased rates of suicide, divorce, and posttraumatic stress disorder due to the nature of their work. Internationally recognized and applied resources such as the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) are designed to assist officers with challenges they may face inside and outside of work, but research has noted low rates of use for this program. We take a communicative approach to investigate the challenges that may keep COs from taking advantage of the EAP. Based on interviews with 26 federal COs in the Midwest United States, we explore how officers construct barriers to EAP use by drawing a clear boundary between use of the program for ‘personal,’ but not ‘professional’ reasons. We conclude with a discussion of how practitioners can modify communication around the program to deconstruct barriers to its use.

摘要

美国的惩教人员 (CO) 是所有其他职业中受伤和患病率最高的职业之一。由于他们的工作性质，这些隐藏的劳动力面临着更高的自杀率、离婚率和创伤后应激障碍。员工援助计划 (EAP) 等国际公认和应用资源旨在帮助官员应对他们在工作内外可能面临的挑战，但研究表明该计划的使用率较低。我们采用交流的方法来调查可能使 CO 无法利用 EAP 的挑战。基于对美国中西部 26 家联邦 COs 的采访，我们探讨了官员如何通过在出于“个人”而非“专业”原因使用该计划之间划定明确界限来构建 EAP 使用障碍。