Employees at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution are the least happy among Nebraska Department of Corrections workers, according to a report from the state Ombudsman’s office.
JoAnne Young writes about the survey in the Lincoln Journal-Star.
A high percentage of workers at the maximum security prison who responded to the survey last month said they felt unsafe at work, didn’t feel they could discuss concerns with supervisors, and that they either didn’t know what direction the Department of Correctional Services was heading or that it was headed in a negative direction.
The survey was taken just a few months after two inmates were killed in a riot at the Tecumseh prison. The biggest problem according to survey respondents – pay.
The majority of administrators and employees department-wide — 68 percent — said the primary change the department could make to keep people from leaving would be salary advancement each year.
Salary increases far outpaced hiring additional staff, reducing overtime and providing more opportunities for advancement as keys to employee retention.
Read the rest of the Journal-Star report here.
Meanwhile, the state is continuing efforts to recruit and retain employees.