Date of Conferral

12-3-2025

Date of Award

December 2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Jason Etchegaray

Abstract

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) faces employee retention challenges, and recruiting and retaining correctional officers remains TDCJ’s most significant challenge and highest priority. Correctional facility leaders need to understand these challenges as indicators of workforce sustainability. Grounded in job embeddedness theory, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to explore the turnover experiences of Texas correctional officers, to understand why officers left their jobs, and the factors that contributed to their decisions to stay in their jobs. Participants comprised 11 former correctional officers who had worked between 5 months and 6 years for the TDCJ. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with open-ended questions. They shared their perceptions of the experiences that contributed to their decisions to leave the job. Five themes emerged from the inductive analysis: (a) job dissatisfaction, (b) ineffective leadership, (c) compensation and benefits, (d) work-life imbalance, and (e) lack of retention strategies and need for implementation. Three subthemes that emerged were the lack of recognition and appreciation, the lack of support, and the poor workplace relationships between supervisors and correctional officers. Correctional facility leaders can use these strategies as insights into reducing attrition, enhancing morale, increasing job satisfaction, and mitigating burnout. Additionally, the findings foster more humane relationships between correctional officers and prisoners, ensuring consistent treatment of prisoners with dignity and respect. The implications for positive social change include the potential for TDCJ leaders to implement effective interventions with job embeddedness that may make the workplace conducive to retaining and attracting correctional officers.

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