The starting point for the authors of this article is a statement that prison is an oppressive institution and the incarcerated suff er from negative emotions such as anger, fury or aggression. Those emotions result in a prison inmate feeling distress, which, among others, involves his lack of security from the side of other inmates as well as from prison offi cers. The omnipresent emotional state of aggressive or depressive character does not solely apply to the incarcerated. The correctional offi cers suff er from it, too, although with less severity. It results from the atmosphere and the conditions of their work. To illustrate this, the article presents the search results of a work atmosphere study carried out in selected correctional facilities in Kraków region. It ends with some deliberations on the possible forms of support for prison offi cers suff ering from stress and professional burnout.