Work Ethic of Prison Inmates Who Participate in Correctional Industries Programs.

A study examined the relationship between correctional industry work experience and the work ethic of the inmate workers assigned to certain Florida correctional industry programs. Inmate workers (n =369) assigned to three of PRIDE Enterprises's correctional industry programs were participants. These industries were selected for the study: printing, vehicle refurbishing, and textiles. The Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) (Miller, 1997), the survey instrument, was a 65-item Likert scale questionnaire with responses from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Findings indicated that, compared with the Miller (1997) and Blumental (1999) studies, the only known studies of work ethic that used the MWEP, the inmates scored very high. The factor analysis showed five dimensions emerged: Morality/Ethics, Hard Work, Centrality of Work, Leisure, and Independence. Regression analysis showed no statistically significant relationship between the length of time a worker was assigned to an industry and his composite work ethic score. Neither did other independent variables affect the non-relationship between time in the industry and work ethic scores. Results did not support a common perception that the inmate population is unmotivated, amoral, self-centered, and lacking the discipline to withstand the rigors of regular employment. (Contains 13 references.) (YLB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Work Ethic of Prison Inmates Who Participate in Correctional Industries Programs Symposium: The Meaning and Measurement of Work Ethic: Another Look