ABSTRACT
There is no doubt that working within the criminal justice workplace can be a demanding experience. Many employees self-select out of this occupation when the demands of the job become apparent, and this is illustrated, for example, by the relatively high turnover of new police and prison officers. Working within most criminal justice workplaces is compounded by the stigma of being ‘tough enough to handle the job’ which includes being able to successfully manage its associated stressors. Thus many staff prefer to deny or avoid acknowledging their experiences of stress (at least within their work environment), primarily in order to avoid being labelled as weak or otherwise stigmatised (Brough, 1998). For many criminal justice employees, admitting to experiencing work stress would, they believe, seriously hinder their personal reputations and negatively impact on their future work opportunities.
