Investigating The Exhaustion of Police officers, Selected Regions Within Namibia

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3(J)) ◽  
pp. 84-99
Author(s):  
Pieters W. R. ◽  
Hasheela C.

Recent studies showed that suicide among police officers are prevalent in certain countries . Burnout and subjective health complaints are considered as risks that are consistent with high levels of suicide ideation. Police officers are exposed to life-threatening traumatic experiences, such as physical assault or witnessing disturbing images of death. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between job demands- resources, authentic leadership, work engagement and burnout within the Namibian Police Force. A cross - sectional survey design was used collecting data about police officers in the Erongo, Oshana and Khomas regions (n=369). Data was analysed using SPPS (version, 24) and Pearson product correlations. Results indicated that when police officers experience high a workload and leaders who do not engage in the moral and ethical behaviour, they will experience higher levels of exhaustion. Factors like organisational support and resources also seemed to impact on work engagement. To reduce exhaustion and increase engagement, it is vital that the police force assesses person-job fit, implement stress management and wellness programmes to help employees cope better with work demands. Moral and ethical behaviour can be enhanced through leadership training/development. Improving on colleague relations (team building) and through mentorship programmes employees would have access to social support at work, buffering a high workload.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Rief ◽  
Samantha Clinkinbeard

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between officer perceptions of fit in their organization and stress (organizational and operational), overall job satisfaction and turnover contemplation (within the last 6 months).Design/methodology/approachThe authors used cross-sectional survey data from a sample of 832 officers from two Midwest police departments to examine the relationships between fit, stress and work-related attitudes.FindingsPerceived stress and organizational fit were strong predictors of overall job satisfaction and turnover contemplation; organizational fit accounted for the most variation in stress, satisfaction and turnover contemplation. Organizational stress partially mediated the relationship between organizational fit and job satisfaction and organizational fit and turnover contemplation.Research ImplicationsMore research is needed to identify predictors of organizational fit perceptions among police officers.Practical implicationsFindings indicate that agencies should pay close attention to the organizational culture and structure when trying to address issues of officer well-being and retention. Further, the person−environment framework can be a useful tool in examining police occupational outcomes.Originality/valueThe authors findings contribute to research on officer stress by exploring perceptions of organizational fit as a predictor of stress and unpacking how officer stress matters to important work outcomes, including job satisfaction and thoughts of turnover, by considering stress as a mediator between organizational fit and these work outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob J Keech ◽  
Kaitlyn L. Cole ◽  
Martin S Hagger ◽  
Kyra Hamilton

Objective: Emergency service workers like police officers experience high levels of stress in the course of their regular duties. Holding particular stress mindsets may help to mitigate the deleterious effects of stress and promote wellbeing in workers experiencing regular stress. The study aimed to examine the processes by which stress mindsets relate to health and wellbeing in police officers. A stress beliefs model in which perceived somatic symptoms and coping behaviours mediate effects of stress mindsets on outcomes was tested. Design: Police officers (N=134) completed an online cross-sectional survey. Main outcome measures: Perceived somatic symptoms, proactive coping behaviours, physical and psychological wellbeing, and perceived stress. Results: Bayesian path analysis with informative priors revealed indirect effects of stress mindsets on psychological wellbeing and perceived stress through proactive coping behaviours and perceived somatic symptoms. Physical and psychological wellbeing, and perceived stress were predicted by stress mindsets directly, and through perceived somatic symptoms. Conclusion: The findings support model predictions that behaviours aimed at proactively meeting demands and perceived somatic symptoms mediated the relationship between stress mindset and health-related outcomes. The findings provide further foundational knowledge on mechanisms through which stress mindset is associated with outcomes and can inform future longitudinal and experimental research.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria J Chambel ◽  
Laura Lorente ◽  
Vânia Carvalho ◽  
Isabel Maria Martinez

Purpose – Based on the psychological contract (PC) theory, the purpose of this paper is to identify PC profiles, differentiating between permanent and temporary agency workers (TAW). Moreover, the authors analyzed whether different profiles presented different levels of work engagement. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional survey data analysis of 2,867 workers, of whom 1,046 were TAW, was analyzed using latent profile analyses. Findings – Four PC profiles were identified, which differed quantitatively in terms of the overall dimension levels (i.e. balanced, relational and transactional) for PC (i.e. content and fulfillment). ANCOVAs showed that the relational/balanced dominant and transactional dominant profiles presented similar engagement levels for TAW, but for permanent workers the former profile showed higher engagement than the latter. However, for both permanent and TAW the fulfillment profile showed higher engagement than the unfulfillment profile. Research limitations/implications – The cross-sectional design and the reliance on self-report measures are the limitations of this study, although no causality was claimed and method biases were controlled. Practical implications – Actions that increase PC fulfillment positively affect the employment relationship of TAW with the client organization. Originality/value – Few studies have addressed PC typologies. Furthermore, most studies have focussed on temporary workers, but not on TAW and their contract with the client organization. Finally, this study emphasizes the crucial role played by the PC in the levels of work engagement.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Mayowa Nwaogu ◽  
Albert P.C. Chan ◽  
Mershack Opoku Tetteh

Purpose Construction tradesmen are exposed to high levels of stress that can worsen mental health, negatively impacting safety compliance and organization productivity. Hence, effectively coping with stress to prevent mental ill-health becomes an essential point of reference. Thus, this study aims to examine the role of factors such as resilience and coping strategies in protecting tradesmen against mental ill-health. Design/methodology/approach Using a cross-sectional survey design, 110 tradesmen from 65 construction companies were surveyed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Brief Resilience Scale and Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Findings The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis. With a 74.5%, 36.4% and 14.6% prevalence rate of self-reported depression, anxiety and suicide ideation among the tradesmen, only positive reappraisal, accepting responsibility coping behaviors and resilience would mitigate the likelihood of developing mental ill-health symptoms. Originality/value This study has extended existing literature by providing information vital to building interventions to deal with stressors effectively. This information would benefit individuals, organizations and the economy and equip policymakers with a deeper knowledge base toward improving mental health.


Author(s):  
Akihito Shimazu ◽  
Arnold B. Bakker ◽  
Evangelia Demerouti ◽  
Takeo Fujiwara ◽  
Noboru Iwata ◽  
...  

This study examines how working parents’ work attitudes (i.e., workaholism and work engagement) are associated with their child’s psychological well-being. Based on the Spillover-Crossover model (SCM), we hypothesize that (a) work-to-family spillover (i.e., work-to-family conflict and facilitation) and (b) employee happiness will sequentially mediate the relationship between parents’ work attitudes and their child’s emotional and behavioral problems. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Japanese dual-earner couples with pre-school child(ren). On the basis of valid data from 208 families, the hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling. For both fathers and mothers simultaneously, workaholism was positively related to work-to-family conflict, which, in turn, was negatively related to happiness. In contrast, work engagement was positively related to work-to-family facilitation, which, in turn, was positively related to happiness. Fathers’ and mothers’ happiness, in turn, were negatively related to their child’s emotional and behavioral problems. Results suggest that parents’ workaholism and work engagement are related to their child’s emotional and behavioral problems in opposite ways, whereby parents’ spillover and happiness mediate this relationship. These findings support the SCM and suggest that decreasing workaholism and improving work engagement may not only improve employees’ happiness, but also decrease their child’s emotional and behavioral problems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Aphu Elvis Selase ◽  
Xinhai Lu ◽  
Ekor Sophia Enyonam Abla

The study assessed how organizational culture affects employee work engagement in the insurance industries in Ghana. A cross sectional survey design was used to purposively sample one hundred and sixty-one (161) employees from two leading insurance companies ambidextrously. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Independent t-test were the statistical tools used to test the three hypotheses of the study. The results of the study revealed that, there is a positive significant relationship between organizational culture and employee work engagement. Again it was established that managers are more likely to be engaged on their job than non-managers and gender has no significant influence on engagement levels. The study therefore concluded that, to increase employee work engagement, organizations must adopt a favorable culture. Therefore we recommend that organizations should maintain and sustain favorable culture in order to increase the level of employees work engagement.


2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masao Ichikawa ◽  
Shinji Nakahara ◽  
Susumu Wakai

Objectives: Afghan asylum seekers in Japan were increasingly subject to detention following the terrorist attack in New York in September 2001, yet little is reported about the net impact of the detention on their mental health. We examined this by comparing asylum seekers who had once been detained in post-migration and their non-detained counterparts. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 2002/03 among asylum seekers from Afghanistan who were in the process of refugee application in Japan. We contacted them through their lawyers or non-governmental organizations. Of 73 contacted, 55 agreed to participate. Anxiety and depression were measured using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist 25, and posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and past traumatic experiences were studied with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. These mental disorders were scored on a 4-point scale; the average symptom score of 4 indicates the worst mental health status. Results: Respondents reported a mean (SD) of 10 (4.0) pre-migration traumas. Since their arrival in Japan, 18 (33%) had once been detained. Trauma exposures and other characteristics of those detained were not significantly different from those not detained, whereas the symptom scores of anxiety (2.91), depression (2.75) and PTSD (2.90) among those detained were higher than among those not detained (2.30, 2.41, 2.34 respectively). Multiple regression analyses revealed independent adverse effects of post-migration detention, alongside exposure to greater trauma and living alone, and the effects were comparable between these variables. Conclusion: The post-migration detention of Afghan asylum seekers in Japan was independently related to their worsened mental health.


Rheumatology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1617-1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Shin ◽  
Seunghwan Shin ◽  
Ji Hyoun Kim ◽  
You-Jung Ha ◽  
Yun Jong Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives We examined the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and comorbidity distribution among patients with RA. Methods Information on comprehensive health status of 1088 RA patients (weighted n = 612 303) was obtained from the 2007–2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database. SES components were household equivalence income, education and area of residence. To minimize confounding by age, patients were stratified by median age (63 years). Age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was estimated, comparing weighted prevalence of individual comorbidities between low and high SES groups in each age stratum. Results Among RA patients aged <63 years (mean 49 years, 70% female), we observed age-adjusted associations of depression (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.01, 4.53), depressive mood (OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.54, 4.65), suicide ideation (OR 3.01, 95% CI 1.79, 5.07), diabetes (OR 3.09, 95%CI 1.31, 7.29), obesity (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.30, 3.20), hypertriglyceridemia (OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.28, 4.34) and osteoarthritis (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.13, 3.99) with low income, of suicide ideation with low education (OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.14, 4.44), but no association of any comorbidities with area of residence. Unhealthy behavior patterns were comparable between low- and high-income groups but patients with low income reported a numerically higher rate of failed access to necessary healthcare services. We did not find any association between SES and comorbidities among those aged ⩾63 years (mean 72 years, 83% female). Conclusion Among Korean RA patients aged <63 years, socioeconomic inequalities of multiple comorbidities in mental, cardiometabolic and musculoskeletal systems were found.


2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 881-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilie Schou Andreassen ◽  
Holger Ursin ◽  
Hege R. Eriksen ◽  
Ståle Pallesen

We examined scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; Raskin & Terry, 1988) in relation to drive to work, enjoyment of and engagement in work, and professional position. A sample of 235 Norwegian bank employees completed a cross-sectional survey. We found that managers scored higher than subordinates on all measures. NPI scores correlated significantly and positively with drive, enjoyment of and engagement in work. Multiple regression analyses controlling for demographic and work variables showed that narcissism was significantly related to enjoyment of work and work engagement but unrelated to drive. Although the associations were rather weak, our findings support previous clinical observations of narcissistic traits in workaholics as well as findings in empirical research on narcissistic traits in managers.


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