Occupational socialization and work-life balance in criminal justice management

¶ … criminal justice managers be concerned with the personal aspects of employees' lives?

The patterns and processes of occupational socialization require some degree of awareness about the personal aspects of employees' lives. To a degree, criminal justice managers can be concerned with the personal aspects of employees' lives, but not to the degree to which that concern becomes intrusive or unnecessary. Officers have a right to privacy, and their personal lives are not necessarily going to affect their behavior or performance in the workforce. However, illegal or unethical behavior outside of the workplace environment can reflect on the organization as a whole. In other words, employees do represent their organizations and must do so with integrity even when they are not on the job. For this reason, managers can be concerned with those personal aspects of employees' lives that might have a bearing on officer integrity.

Criminal justice managers also need to be aware of the fact that their employees' personal lives do impact their job performance. Providing a work-life balance for employees can ensure productivity and reduces absenteeism as well as turnover. "People and how they are managed are keys to organizational success," (Veneziano, 2010, p. 38). As the "largest expenditure" in the organization, it becomes more critical than ever before to retain officers that have been put through costly training and prevent the losses linked to absenteeism, low performance due to personal issues interfering with work, and turnover (Veneziano, 2010, p. 38). To the degree to which employees are considered investments directly responsible for the functioning of the organization, managers should be concerned with personal aspects of their employees' lives.

Finally, concern with the personal aspects of employees' lives depends largely on the role of the employee within the organization. High profile employees might be under media scrutiny, which would demand much more interest in maintaining consistency and integrity in personal and professional sectors. Otherwise, employees have a right to expect that their private lives will not have a bearing on how they are perceived or treated by the organization and its leaders. Employees' personal lives might also have a bearing on their ability to carry out specific tasks, and may make some employees uniquely eligible or ineligible for certain key positions. Therefore, it is often important for managers and leaders to pay attention to some aspects of their employees' personal lives.

2. Will this concern necessarily translate into effective leadership in that organization?

Effective leadership does depend on recognizing the value of all employees. Recognizing employee value in turn demands that leaders respect the work-life balance and encourage their employees to flourish in all areas of their lives. When managers acknowledge that employees' personal lives can have a bearing on their performance, they create a workplace environment that is more conducive to productivity and overall satisfaction (Administration of Justice Organizations, "Motivating Our Team"). Leaders can motivate the people in their organization by creating an environment in which all team members feel supported. Research shows that supporting employees creates an environment conducive to motivation and high performance objectives. Warners (2010), for example, notes that the best field training officers encourage employees to make time for their families. Concern for employees' personal life and mental health, listening to employees' concerns, and treating them with respect can achieve organizational goals, prevent turnover, and improve the organizational culture too.

Moreover, concern with employees' personal lives also helps leaders to properly manage the organization's overall image, focus, and discipline. An employee whose personal life interferes with work performance can be detrimental to the organization. Problems in an employees' personal life might include mental health issues that an effective leader can address compassionately. An effective leader should speak directly with the employees in question to ensure that their personal life does not interfere with their ability to perform or their impact on the morale of the workplace. Leaders who learn about their employees' personal lives are also better informed and able to make human resources decisions that might affect not only that individual but also the entire organization. Because most criminal justice employees are public servants, their personal lives do have a strong bearing on their ability to serve.