Executive Summary Stress at the workplace is a common phenomenon in many professions. However, unlike other professionals, correctional officers experience unique work dynamics that introduce new stress factors to their work experiences. Particularly, correctional officers have to manage and supervise the activities of people held by the state against their will. Furthermore, most inmates have a record of violence. This paper explores the unique perceptive stress factors for correctional officers by focusing on five main categories of stress factors – external organizational factors, internal organizational factors, work environment factors, attitudinal variables, and demographic factors. After sampling the views of correctional officers from Washington D.C and Baltimore city, this paper shows that work environment factors have the highest impact on occupational stress. Particularly, this paper identifies the dangerous nature of work for correctional officers as the highest contributor of stress. Therefore, to reduce the level of stress among correctional officers, this paper proposes the creation of a favorable work environment for correctional officers. Introduction Background Workplace stress affects different professionals around the world. Finn (2000) says that about 30% of the general workforce experiences some type of stress in the workplace. Stress manifests as a psychological strain that affects people’s mental state. Unattended stress may lead to employee burnout, decreased organizational commitment, and low employee productivity (Finney & Stergiopoulos, 2013). Employees may show its symptoms through frustration, exhaustion, and detachment (among other factors). The past decade has witnessed several attempts at explaining the main factors that affect stress. For example, several research studies conducted in the 1960s investigated the main causes of stress across different work categories (Brough & Williams, 2007; Finney & Stergiopoulos, 2013; Millson, 2000). However, most of these studies focused on investigating stress factors across the most established industrial categories. Focus on human service sectors only emerged in the 1970s when researchers tried to investigate the real causes and solutions for stress across several work categories (such as police and nurses) (Millson, 2000). At the same time, there were parallel attempts aimed at investigating the real causes of stress for correctional officers. Such studies aimed to identify and provide remedies for stress related factors in the largest cohort on the correctional department – correction officers (Brough & Williams, 2007). Cullen & Link (1985) say the focus on stress-related factors for correctional officers brought a new agenda in social research where correctional officers became worthy and interesting subjects for social studies. Indeed, correctional officers were of great interest to many researchers because they supervised and managed the activities of a large population (inmates) that the government held against their will. Their job description also outlines the need to foster public safety by exercising human control as they interact and engage with prisoners. Based on the nature and organizational structures of correctional facilities, it is inevitable for correctional officers to experience strict and pervasive bureaucracies that could contribute to their over