Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Version of the Operational and Organizational Police Stress Questionnaires

The Police Operational Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-Op) and Police Organizational Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-Org) have been used to assess operational and organizational sources of police officers’ occupational stress. Considering that different cultural and socio-economic environments could affect officers’ perception of operational and organizational stress, country specific psychometric properties and cut-off values should be defined. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Serbian version of the PSQ-Op and PSQ-Org (i.e., translated in Serbian and adjusted to Serbian culture) and to establish cut-off values for low, moderate and high stress. Methods: The PSQ-Op and PSQ-Org were administered to police officers through the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia. Participants included 1220 police officers (19.0% female) who correctly completed both questionnaires. Cronbach’s α was used to determine the reliability of instruments. Cut-off values for low, moderate and high stress were defined based on the mean and standard deviation of the sample and using percentile analysis. Prevalence of low, moderate and high stress was calculated according to already established cut-off values as well as those calculated based on the study sample. Results: Both instruments showed high reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.963 [95% Confidence Interval = 0.957–0.964]). Occupational stress levels (low, moderate and high) were distributed differently (p < 0.001) when categorized according to the cut-off values defined in literature and cut-off values based on the study sample. The cut-off values by mean and standard deviation could be used for PSQ-Op, while cut-off values by percentile analysis could be used for PSQ-Org.

„Emotional Intelligence and Communication in Human Resources Management to Avoid Occupational Stress”

This study is part of a larger paper and brings to the fore a topical issue in today’s society, namely the importance of emotional intelligence in interpersonal relationships in an organization, its connection with the ability of individuals to communicate empathetically, directly, concisely in properly manage working time to avoid occupational stress. This article includes: basics about the importance of emotional intelligence in an organization, the causes of organizational stress, and factors that lead to decreased job satisfaction. The article includes the objective, purpose, research hypothesis, conceptual basis and methodology, tools for measuring stress, emotional intelligence and professional communication.

The Mode of Trust and Experience of Stress in Customs Officers in Ukraine

The article presents the author’s position of studying organizational trust in customs service and specific experience of workplace stress that influences its formation. The study sample involved 77 customs officers in the following categories of customs personnel: customs inspectors and passenger inspectors. The scientific value of this study lies in establishing the empirical referents of the relationship between organizational trust and relief of organizational stress in customs officers at different organizational levels. The article proves that the empirical referents of the interrelation of organizational trust and experience of workplace stress in the customs group 3 are at the mezzo-level of organizational trust (concern from management, supported by indicators of organizational culture in the field of communication and management) and at the micro-level (increasing organizational stress in the forms of activity and productivity, the flexibility of behaviour, acceptance of others’ values and indicators of job satisfaction due to the expressed emotional commitment of these employees to their organization). The practical value of the obtained results allows one to understand the nature and the impact of organizational stress and the level of organizational trust on the effectiveness of customs officers’ professional activities. It also makes it possible to develop a further programme of psychological support for this professional group to improve psychological safety and well-being in the workplace.

Prevalence of Organizational Stress, Burnout and Work-Related Musculoskeletal Discomfort (WMSD) among Civil Engineers - An Observational Study

Introduction: Organizational stress is an emotional, behavioral, physiological response to aggressive & harmful aspect of work, work environment and organization climate. Burnout is state of mental exhaustion caused by excessive & prolonged stress. High work demand, poor work control and weak social support may create circumstances for development of stress among Civil engineers. Purpose: The construction industry as a whole has been suffering from mental stress due to range of stressors imposed on the work force, resulting in behavioral habits which are not conductive to a healthy lifestyle; physical symptoms signalling burnout, chronic stress and depression which should be managed on time. Here arises the need to find Prevalence of organizational stressor, burnout and Work-related MSD among Civil Engineers. Methodology: 110 Participants of both genders were asked to fill Standardized scales “organizational stressor scale”, “burnout questionnaire” & “Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaires (CMDQ)” by personal interview from construction sites of Ahmedabad. Datasheet compiled in Microsoft Excel. Result: Organizational stressor shows:- 18.18% mild stress, 76.36% moderate stress & 5.45% severe stress. On burnout scale 60.9% has fair chance of burning out, 5% has begun to burnout & 3% has advanced stage of burnout. CMDQ shows maximum affection of pain in knee & neck. Conclusion: Civil engineers have moderate level of organizational stress and have moderate to high amount of job related stress which have begun to burnout, they are susceptible for Work related MSD with significant prevalence for knee pain. Key words: Burnout, Civil engineers, organizational stressor, work-related musculoskeletal disorder.

The Impact of Social Support and Occupational Stress on Burnout in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service

Police officers experience very stressful working environments which may lead to a range of negative outcomes including burnout. Police officers in Caribbean countries are no exception as they face demanding work conditions. Despite this, studies have paid little attention to Caribbean policing. Using data from the eight police divisions in Trinidad (N = 331 police officers), this study examined the relationship among social support (supervisor, co-worker, and family), occupational stress (organizational and operational) and burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). Path analysis was used to test the hypothesis that social support served to reduce occupational stress, which in turn led to reduced burnout. The results suggested that supervisor support reduced organizational stress, while co-worker and family support reduced operational stress. Organizational stress, in turn affected emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment, while operational stress affected emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.

Estrés organizacional en estudiantes de Medicina de la Universidad de Mucia

En este trabajo hemos estudiado el estrés organizacional de estudiantes de medicina de la Universidad de Murcia. Se trata de un diseño transversal por medio de una encuesta autocumplimentada que consta de datos sociodemográficos y un cuestionario de estrés organizacional. Este cuestionario es una adaptación de otro empleado en Reino Unido para estudiar el estrés organizacional en varias facultades de medicina del país. Obtuvimos una tasa de participación del 25.8 %. En relación con el estrés organizacional, se calculó la media de los distintos apartados: equilibrio vida-trabajo, adquisición de conocimientos y habilidades, cultura, apoyo académico percibido, apoyo personal y sanitario percibido. Al comparar con la puntuación media de las facultades de otros países, se obtuvieron diferencias significativas en los dominios “apoyo académico percibido”, “adquisición de conocimientos y habilidades” y “equilibrio vida-trabajo”. En el resto de dominios del cuestionario de estrés organizacional no hubo diferencias significativas entre la UMU y la media de las facultades de Reino Unido. Las puntuaciones en el cuestionario de estrés organizacional indican alto estrés en varios apartados estudiados. Los estudiantes también señalan otros aspectos que les resultan estresantes y que no están contemplados en los cuestionarios administrados. Pequeñas intervenciones podrían mejorar las puntuaciones obtenidas en algunos apartados. In this work we have studied the organizational stress of medical students at the University of Murcia. It is a cross-sectional design through a self-completed survey that consists of sociodemographic data and an organizational stress questionnaire. This questionnaire is adapted by another employee in the UK to study organizational stress in various medical schools in the country. We obtained a participation rate of 25.8%. In relation to organizational stress, the average of the different sections was calculated: work-life balance, acquisition of knowledge and skills, culture, perceived academic support, perceived personal and health support. When comparing with the average score of the faculties of other countries, significant differences were obtained in the domains “perceived academic support”, “acquisition of knowledge and skills” and “work-life balance”. In the rest of the domains of the organizational stress questionnaire, there were no significant differences between the UMU and the mean of the UK faculties. Scores on the organizational stress questionnaire indicate high stress in several sections studied. The students also point out other aspects that are stressful for them and that are not covered in the administered questionnaires. Small interventions could improve the scores obtained in some sections.

Stress Management Interventions at the Organizational Level in Customs

It is urgent to develop a complex of primary, secondary and tertiary interventions for stress management, taking into account the specifics of both the models of labor and organiza-tional culture and regulatory recommendations for the implementation of personnel and educa-tional activities in the customs authority. The subject of this study is the methods of stress man-agement interventions at the organizational level in the customs authorities. The work implements diagnostic tools: the McLean Organizational Stress Scale test, the “Coping behavior in stressful situations CISS” technique.