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1 – 10 of 689Stress research in the UK policing has largely neglected to account for variance in the type of psychosocial hazard officers are exposed to across policing roles, highlighting the…
Abstract
Purpose
Stress research in the UK policing has largely neglected to account for variance in the type of psychosocial hazard officers are exposed to across policing roles, highlighting the need for role‐specific research that is capable of informing similarly specific stress reduction interventions. This study aimed to develop and assess exposure to a taxonomy of psychosocial hazards specific to the UK police custody work, consider the burnout profile of custody officers, explore relations between psychosocial hazard exposure and burnout, and compare the exposures of burned out and non‐burned out custody officers.
Design/methodology/approach
Preliminary focus groups identified a series of psychosocial hazards specific to the custody officer role. A questionnaire administered to custody officers within a UK territorial police force assessed exposure to these psychosocial hazards and burnout.
Findings
Twenty‐six custody‐specific psychosocial hazards were identified, across nine themes. The proportion of custody officers who reported a high degree of burnout was above that found in normative data. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that exposures were positively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Unrelated t‐tests showed that respondents who reported high burnout also reported significantly higher exposures across all nine psychosocial hazard themes than those with sub‐threshold burnout scores.
Originality/value
This is the first study to investigate the stress‐related working conditions of the UK custody officers. It provides a foundation for future large‐scale longitudinal studies concerned with validating the current findings and improving the health of officers engaged in this unique policing role.
Jonathan Houdmont, Robert Kerr and Raymond Randall
There is a paucity of contemporary evidence on the organisational (as opposed to operational) psychosocial hazard (OPH) exposures of UK police officers. The purpose of this study…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a paucity of contemporary evidence on the organisational (as opposed to operational) psychosocial hazard (OPH) exposures of UK police officers. The purpose of this study is to report on OPH exposures measured via an instrument developed by the UK government – the management standards indicator tool – among police officers sampled from an entire UK force. The study seeks to provide reference values for UK police officers' OPH exposures, to consider these in relation to government exposure targets, and to examine the association between officers' OPH exposures and perceived work‐related stress.
Design/methodology/approach
Police officers (n=1,729) completed the management standards indicator tool which measures perceived exposure to seven psychosocial work environment dimensions: demands, control, managerial support, peer support, relationships, role, and change. In addition, a single‐item measure of perceived work‐related stress was applied.
Findings
Sector‐specific reference values were generated by job role and rank on each of the seven dimensions assessed by the indicator tool. Scores on all seven dimensions were below government target levels (indicating that scores fell below the 80th percentile in relation to benchmark data). In total, 46 per cent of police officers reported their work to be very or extremely stressful. A significant positive correlation (p <0.01) was found between scores on each of the seven psychosocial work characteristics and perceived work‐related stress.
Originality/value
This study is the first to report on the assessment of UK police officers' OPH exposure using the management standards indicator tool. It provides reference values that UK forces will find useful for benchmarking and intervention‐targeting purposes, and against which progress in reducing OPH exposures can be assessed.
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Gail Kinman, Andrew James Clements and Jacqui Hart
The purpose of this paper is to examine the well-being of UK prison officers by utilising a benchmarking approach.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the well-being of UK prison officers by utilising a benchmarking approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Stress Indicator Tool is widely used in the UK to assess key psychosocial hazards in the workplace encompassing demands, control, support from managers and co-workers, relationship quality, role and change management. This study utilises this approach to examine the extent to which a sample of UK prison officers meets the HSE recommended minimum standards for the management of work-related well-being. Levels of mental health and job satisfaction in the sector are also assessed using measures with extensive occupational norms. The psychosocial hazards that make the strongest contribution to mental health and job satisfaction are also considered.
Findings
Respondents reported lower levels of well-being for all of the hazard categories than recommended. Moreover, mental health and job satisfaction were considerably poorer among prison officers than other occupational groups within the emergency and security services in the UK. Considerable variation was found in the psychosocial hazards that predicted mental health and job satisfaction.
Practical implications
The high levels of stressors and strains experienced by UK prison officers gives serious cause for concern. Priority areas for interventions to enhance well-being in the sector are considered and areas for future research discussed.
Originality/value
This study highlights the wide-ranging benefits of a benchmarking approach to investigate work-related stressors and strains at the sector level.
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Thomas George Campbell, Tony Westbury, Richard Davison and Geraint Florida-James
As exposure to psychosocial hazard at work represents a substantial risk factor for employee health in many modern occupations, being able to accurately assess how employees cope…
Abstract
Purpose
As exposure to psychosocial hazard at work represents a substantial risk factor for employee health in many modern occupations, being able to accurately assess how employees cope with their working environment is crucial. The workplace is generally accepted as being a dynamic environment, therefore, consideration should be given to the interaction between employees and the acute environmental characteristics of their workplace. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of both acute demand and chronic work-related psychosocial hazard upon employees through ambulatory assessment of heart rate variability and blood pressure.
Design/methodology/approach
A within-subjects repeated measures design was used to investigate the relationship between exposure to work-related psychosocial hazard and ambulatory heart rate variability and blood pressure in a cohort of higher education employees. Additionally the effect of acute variation in perceived work-related demand was investigated.
Findings
Two dimensions of the Management Standards were found to demonstrate an association with heart rate variability; more hazardous levels of “demand” and “relationships” were associated with decreased standard deviation of the normal-to-normal interval. Significant changes in blood pressure and indices of heart rate variability were observed with increased acute demand.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to combine the Health and Safety Management Standards Indicator Tool with physiological assessment of employees. The results provide evidence of associations between scores on the indicator tool and ambulatory heart rate variability as well as demonstrating that variation in acute perceived work-related demand is associated with alterations to autonomic and cardiovascular function. This has implications not only for employee health and workplace design but also for future studies employing ambulatory physiological monitoring.
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Beata Aleksandra Basinska, Izabela Wiciak and Anna Maria Dåderman
The policing profession is associated with psychosocial hazard. Fatigue and burnout often affect police officers, and may impair the functioning of the organization and public…
Abstract
Purpose
The policing profession is associated with psychosocial hazard. Fatigue and burnout often affect police officers, and may impair the functioning of the organization and public safety. The relationship between fatigue and burnout may be modified by job-related emotions. While negative emotions have been extensively studied, the role of positive emotions at work is relatively less known. Additionally, there is insufficient knowledge about the role of the intensity of emotions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of job-related emotions in the relationship between fatigue and burnout in police officers.
Design/methodology/approach
In all, 169 police officers (26 women) completed a test battery that assessed acute fatigue, burnout (Oldenburg Burnout Inventory: exhaustion and disengagement), and emotions (Job-related Affective Well-being Scale).
Findings
Acute fatigue was associated more strongly with exhaustion than with disengagement. Low-arousal negative emotions partially mediated the relationship between fatigue and exhaustion. High-arousal positive and negative emotions were partial mediators between fatigue and disengagement experienced by police officers.
Research limitations/implications
The results show that high-arousal emotions were associated with changes in work motivation, while low-arousal negative emotions reduced energetic ability to work.
Originality/value
This paper enhances understanding of burnout among police officers and the mediating role of emotions. The patterns of the relationships between fatigue, burnout and emotions are discussed in the context of the conservation of resources theory and the tripartite model of anxiety and depression.
Stefano Toderi and Cristian Balducci
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate if the Management Standards (MS) Indicator Tool developed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for the assessment of work-related…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate if the Management Standards (MS) Indicator Tool developed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for the assessment of work-related stress is associated with positive work-related outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 326 employees of an Italian firm filled in a questionnaire including the HSE Indicator Tool (measuring MS) and validated scales investigating personal development, job performance and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). Regression analyses were run to evaluate the explained variance of the outcomes and the demands/control interaction effect hypothesized by Karasek’s active learning hypothesis.
Findings
The MS explained variance of all the outcomes analysed and the active learning hypothesis was confirmed for personal development. Contrary to previous studies on negative stress-related outcomes, “job content” MS were the most important predictors. However, higher job demands were unexpectedly positively associated with the outcomes.
Practical implications
Taking into account positive work-related outcomes could provide organizations with additional information for the development of interventions with greater emphasis on preventive orientation (improvement of health, well-being and motivation, rather than only work stress reduction).
Originality/value
The study provides new insight into the relationship between MS and positive work-related outcomes, thus expanding the nomological network of the Indicator Tool questionnaire and giving empirical evidence to the notion of the “business case” for work stress prevention. Firms performing well on MS could expect greater worker development and higher performance.
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Due to the “European Union Framework Directive on Safety and Health at work” (Directive 89/391/EEC, 1989), every employer is obliged to avoid psychosocial hazards when designing…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the “European Union Framework Directive on Safety and Health at work” (Directive 89/391/EEC, 1989), every employer is obliged to avoid psychosocial hazards when designing work. Little is known empirically about the barriers that workplace actors experience while developing and implementing OSH measures that prevent psychosocial hazards. The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers, causes and attempts to overcome them and discusses them with reference to relevant theoretical concepts and models that help to explain how these barriers hinder the development and implementation of OSH measures.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews with workplace actors in charge of psychosocial risk assessment (PRA) were conducted in 41 business cases, and transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Barriers, causes and attempts to overcome them were extracted inductively and discussed with reference to relevant theories and explanatory models.
Findings
The complex nature of psychosocial risks, hindering general beliefs, lack of a perceived scope for risk avoidance, lack of assumptions of responsibility among players on all hierarchical levels, discrepancies between formal responsibility and decision authority, and low reflexivity on processes of development and implementation of interventions were described as barriers. Causes and attempts to overcome these barriers were reflected upon by workplace actors.
Practical implications
Recommendations on the organisation of PRA will be given with respect to the reported results and relevant research in this field.
Originality/value
This qualitative study explores the barriers to developing and implementing OSH measures to eliminate psychosocial hazards, from the perspective of actors in charge of PRA, and why they might fail.
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Theophilus Tagoe and Kwesi Amponsah-Tawiah
The current happenings in the Ghana banking space and anecdotal evidence suggest that employees face psychosocial issues which impact their levels of work engagement. An…
Abstract
Purpose
The current happenings in the Ghana banking space and anecdotal evidence suggest that employees face psychosocial issues which impact their levels of work engagement. An intervention to manage these psychosocial hazards and promote work engagement among the employees is necessary. In effect, the study has proposed the promotion of a positive psychosocial safety climate (PSC) therein. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of PSC on the relationship between psychosocial hazards (i.e. work stress, workplace violence and workplace bullying) and work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The study gathered quantitative data from six commercial banks. Miller and Brewer’s (2003) sample determination formula was used to calculate the sample. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Questionnaires were used for the data collection, and Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyze the data from 543 usable responses.
Findings
Workplace bullying negatively predicted work engagement, whereas work stress and workplace violence had no significant effect on work engagement. PSC had a significant positive effect on work engagement. Furthermore, PSC only moderated the workplace bullying–work engagement relationship.
Originality/value
Based on the findings, PSC can be a national and organizational intervention promoted to create a positive psychological work environment devoid of such psychosocial hazards in the Ghanaian banking sector. Also, this will foster work engagement among the employees which will culminate into increased productivity.
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Isobel Sheard, Melissa Ellen Burnett and Helen St Clair-Thompson
Police personnel report relatively high rates of mental health difficulties, and are at an increased risk of experiencing stress, burnout, secondary traumatic stress and anxiety…
Abstract
Purpose
Police personnel report relatively high rates of mental health difficulties, and are at an increased risk of experiencing stress, burnout, secondary traumatic stress and anxiety as a result of the nature of their work and may also experience low compassion satisfaction. However, it is likely that the prevalence of psychological distress varies across roles. The purpose of this paper is to explore psychological distress, in a large sample of police personnel, examining differences between individuals in a number of police roles.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire assessing experience of mental health problems, perceived stress, compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary traumatic stress), compassion satisfaction and anxiety was administered to 602 police personnel, who were classified into one of ten roles (24/7 officers, communications, firearms, crime, resolution without deployment, neighbourhood, custody, safeguarding, operations and other roles). Differences based on role and the requirement for shift work were then examined.
Findings
24/7 officers had higher compassion fatigue and lower compassion satisfaction than individuals in a number of other roles. Firearms officers had lower levels of perceived stress and anxiety. Resolution without deployment officers reported higher secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue. The findings also revealed that respondents who partake in shift work showed higher levels of perceived stress.
Originality/value
This is the first study to the authors’ knowledge to investigate experience of mental health problems and reports of psychological distress in different roles within a UK police force. The findings have important implications, for example, in terms of identifying groups who may be particularly at risk from psychological distress.
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