Correctional Officers – Risk taking

Working inside a prison has risks associated with it at all times. In fact, being realistic, every job or career contains a certain level of risks and therefore often misunderstood in purpose or certainty. What we do every day has a risk assigned to it. Whether we are driving an 18 wheeler across the country or a pilot on Trans-oceanic flights, there all certain risks involved in such jobs.

Being employed as a correctional officer brings many risks to the front every day you work a shift inside the penitentiary and it is time you should learn how to manage these risks so that you can be more capable and successful as well as giving you the competitive edge to outperform others not so eager or unwilling to take those risks associated with the job.

The first thing we must identify is we are all risk takers. The difference between you and other officers is your ability to assess and manage the risk with your own intelligence. Knowing the downside of making decisions as well as taking advantage of your ability to do something rather than nothing, you must admit that “failure is not an option” and that you need to formulate a strategy to overcome barriers and obstacles to reduce the risk factors with changing how you approach the problem or situation intelligently.

Learning how to evaluate a risk level is anything but basic in nature. Risks impact you personally, legally and are accompanied with liabilities thus it is important you are well aware of the strategy how to make situational awareness assessments. One has to remember that risks are dynamic and can change the environment almost instantly if done recklessly or deliberately without first making sure you have identified all the elements / factors that impact your decision making process. Your decision will mark your position whether it was an acceptable risk or if done without proper evaluation, an unacceptable risk.

In this job of being a correctional officer, there are no fancy matrix formulas that give you the answers to your problems. Neither are your problems mathematical as you will always be outnumbered inside these prisons and always aware that your sources of information have constraints either politically, behaviorally or organizationally. Therefore, it is impossible for you to quantify the process of calculating the pros or the cons in such a dynamic mindset.

The mindset has to be adjusted in two ways; first we must stop overrating risks and second we must bypass our psyche that has been wired to avoid risks. We have to undo evolution and accept things are they really are in the sense of predatory or unnaturally threatening to your own welfare or others. This means you must have self confidence and believe in yourself to make good assessments, evaluations and not fall to the three mistakes humans make which are to overestimate threats, underestimate opportunities and underestimating resources.

Overestimating threats is not a good strategy for humans to make. It leads to working harder than needed to overcome the instant negativity such thinking creates. Thus it’s important you keep yourself to think of the down side and make sure it’s not as bad as it seems.

One must ask the most important question posed during such times. Is the worst case scenario tolerable or intolerable? The answer will determine you next course of action. Based on this question, your answer should either be a yes or a no. Needless to say, if the answer is no you may be fired or disciplined and loss some money due to a suspension imposed. Hence you need to be sure you always have a second plan to back up your first plan that isn’t as risky as the one you  just evaluated and determined to be high  risk with severe consequences if it fails.

You will always be faced with uncertainty and risks concerning your career opportunities and other compelling situation at work. There is no such thing as 100 % information or certainty it will work. Uncertainty is a terrible feeling that induces stress and anxiety. It is certainly not a comfortable feeling but it is often overrated and has a ruthless ability to deny you opportunities to make something good happen. Don’t let uncertainty prevent you from making risky decision in your life. Remember that nothing is complete in life and these variables will play out through the process but if you do not make it happen you will never know what you missed or gained through this procedure.

Risk taking behaviors are directly impacted by age and what stage your career is at the time. Taking into consideration previous education opportunities, military or vocational experience and other resources you may have acquired through your developmental years, you are often unwary of how many resources you have at hand to solve the problem and overcome the risks presented to you at the present time. Some appear to be more aggressive in character and behaviors when at a younger age and temper a little as they grow older.

What is worthwhile noticing here is the background of those experiences acquired over the years to assist you in making good decisions even when faced with risks. In addition you have acquired family, friends and other associates that have influenced your mindset and mental growth where you have become a worthwhile risk taker based on knowing how to tolerate risks and accepting them as a natural part of your environment.