Effects of social isolation on job satisfaction at work and the ability to distinguish successful versus unsuccessful isolated employees

摘要

The current study was designed to assess the effects of isolation in more common "real life" work situations. Subjects were correctional officers who worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons from high security institutions. One hundred ten correctional officers who worked in isolated conditions and 132 correctional officers who worked in non-isolated conditions completed surveys assessing their sensation-seeking personality, biographical information, and perceived social support. Tolerance for job condition measures included job satisfaction, mental health, intentions to remain in the organization, willingness to repeat the same job rotation, leave usage, and organizational commitment.;The current study hypothesized that correctional officers working in isolated conditions would be more negatively affected by their working conditions than employees in non-isolated conditions; that personality tests, biographical items, and perceived social support scales could be used to predict which employees could better tolerate their job condition; and that items could be combined to increase the prediction of isolation tolerance, and that a model proposed in the study (Person-Physical/Psychological Environment Fit Model) could be used to determine which employees could tolerate their working conditions.;The current study found the following results: (1) with a few minor exceptions, employees in the isolated condition were not more negatively affected by job condition; (2) personality tests and social support scales were successful in predicting job tolerance, but biographical items were not; (3) the P-P/PE Fit model of stress is an effective tool in predicting job tolerance and two of the three factors of the model (person, psychological environment) appear to impact the stress or strain an individual will experience.;This research suggests that organizations may want to, first, limit the duration an employee is in isolation conditions and second, assess an individual's personality or perceived social support before placing the individual in an isolated working condition. Further research should be conducted: (1) with real employees; (2) examining the effects of long term isolation; (3) using other occupations with less stress and danger (in the non-isolated condition); (4) using other occupations to examine the validity of the P-P/PE Fit model of stress.