Award Date

5-1-2016

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Environmental and Public Affairs

First Committee Member

Cecilia Maldonado

Second Committee Member

Karen Danielsen-Lang

Third Committee Member

Andrew Spivak

Fourth Committee Member

William Sousa

Number of Pages

211

Abstract

Organizations should constantly strive to improve their levels of employee engagement, because improving employee engagement influences the well-being of both employees and organizations (Bakker, 2011, p. 268). In today’s workplaces, organizations need employees who are psychologically connected to their work, who are willing and able to invest themselves in their roles, and who are proactive and committed to high quality standards.” (Bakker, Albrecht, & Leiter, 2011, pp. 4-5). This is important; not only for private organizations but for public organizations as well, especially organizations in the criminal justice system who continuously strive to keep the peace, have constant contact with citizens, sometimes encounter dangerous and volatile situations, and have heightened scrutiny by the public. (McCarty & Skogan, 2012). There needs to be increased attention to the antecedents of employee engagement, especially in terms of job resources, personal resources, and job demands (Bakker, Demerouti, & Sanz-Vergel, 2014). Providing decision makers with tangible information and data gives them an opportunity to make informed decisions about where to allocate their energy and resources.

This study explored the relationship between job resources, personal resources, and job demands on employee engagement/exhaustion of juvenile probation/parole officers. The study’s primary representation was drawn from juvenile probation/parole officers who currently work for two juvenile justice agencies in a southwest state of the United States. The data were collected using a quantitative methodology in the form of a survey to a population of juvenile probation/parole officers and analyzed using multiple regression analysis and an independent samples t-test, data were checked for validity and reliability. Results show that job resources were statistically significant predictors of employee engagement and that job resources and job demands were statistically significant predictors of employee exhaustion. In addition, independent samples t-tests showed that juvenile parole officers have higher employee engagement than juvenile probation officers and women officers are more exhausted than their male counterparts. A qualitative piece was included, semi-structured interviews were conducted with top level managers from both juvenile justice organizations. Interview results show that managers are aware of the variables (job demands, job resources, personal resources, employee engagement, and exhaustion) and how they might affect their employees..

Keywords

Employee Engagement; Exhaustion; Job Burnout; Job Demands-Resources Theory; Parole; Probation

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Criminology | Criminology and Criminal Justice | Industrial and Organizational Psychology

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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