Cynicism Toward Change and Career Stage: An Exploration of Work Environment and Organizational Based Characteristics Among Prison Officers in Ghana

Abstract

Prison officer cynicism toward change (CTC) has received limited attention in the penal literature. In the global south, there has been very limited research on CTC among prison officers. In addressing this research gap, we utilized data from prison officers based in low- and medium- security prisons in Ghana to assess the level of CTC and whether the levels of reported CTC differed across different career stages. We also examine the impact of individual, work-environment, and organizational predictors on CTC across career stages. Our results reveal similar levels of moderate CTC among prison officers at all career stages. Organizational-based factors were stronger predictors of CTC than work-environment variables. Input into decision making was the only predictor of CTC across all career stages. We identify and examine a number of vital contributions to theory and practice.