Qualitative differences in men and women police officers' experience of occupational stress

Gender differences in exposure to sources of occupational stress and experience of adverse consequences are explored in a study of 358 male and 139 female police constables engaged in uniformed patrol or detective duties from one large provincial English police force. Stressors were divided into those arising tiom police operational duties and those deriving tioni organizational and management issues. Women uniformed constables are less likely to be exposed to police operational stresson involving the potential for violence, but ifexposed they report more severe adverse reactions than uniformed policemen. Women unifomied officers and women detectives are more likely to be involved with victims ofviolence or sexual offences and the former report higher levels ofassociated self-perceived stress than their male counterparts. There are relatively few differences in exposure to organizational stressors except that women detectives and uniformed officers report higher rates of sex discrimination and prejudice than policemen. Multivariate analyses show gender and occupational role differences in qualitative features that contribute to reported psychologal distress. Results are discussed in terms of possible explanations for gender differences.     

Sources of occupational stress in the police

This paper describes an empirical study (n = 954) of occupational stress conducted in a large provincial English police force. Conceptual distinctions were made between stressors, i.e., potential external sources of adverse reactions; felt stress, i.e., self-perceived negative impact; and distress, i.e., self-reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, social dysfunction, and somatic disturbance. Findings indicates that overall exposure rates are highest for organizational and management stressors rather than routine operational duties. Differential rates of exposure, felt stress, and distress are reported for different ranks of officers. The paper confirms the nature of postulated sources of police stress from earlier studies and extends analysis to differentiate between exposure to stressors and experience of distress.     

The social construction of the meaning of acute stressors: A qualitative study of the personal accounts of police officers using a stress counselling service

The police profession is one in which acute stressors are encountered more frequently than in other occupations. Using the personal accounts of 35 police officers attending an in-house stress counselling clinic, the aim of the present study was to provide a qualitative examination of how the institutional context of policing influenced the ways in which acute stressors signified to individual police officers experiencing felt distress. Using the framework of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy as an analytical tool, it is argued that beliefs contributing to the experience of felt distress are related to the way in which policing as both an identity and an activity is constructed through the police organizational culture. Not only do these constructions influence the ways in which officers perceive themselves and their environments, but they also operate at the collective level to 'normalize' some emotional responses and to 'pathologize' others which, it is argued, could impact upon the outcomes of interventions such as stress counselling.     

Self-perceived occupational stress and distress in a Scottish police force

Abstract

This paper describes an empirical study (n = 699) of occupational stress in a Scottish police force. The self-perceived stress associated with a variety of organizational and opearational stressors was examined along with the associated distress in the police officers in terms of symptoms of anxiety, somatic complaint, severe depression and social dysfunction. The analysis revealed that in spite of the potential that police work offers for exposure to adverse opeational situations such as violence or death, the highest levels of associated stress lie in relation to organizational factors such as officers' perceptions of staff shortages, inadequate resources, time pressures, lack of communication and work overload. Differential rates of perceived stress are reported accordng to gender, rank and working location. This paper further validates previsous research on stress in British police and addresses the situation from a Scottish perspective.     

The social construction of the meaning of acute stressors: a qualitative study of the personal accounts of police officers using a stress counselling service

The police profession is one in which acute stressors are encountered more frequently than in other occupations. Using the personal accounts of 35 police officers attending an in-house stress counselling clinic, the aim of the present study was to provide a qualitative examination of how the institutional context of policing influenced the ways in which acute stressors signified to individual police officers experiencing felt distress. Using the framework of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy as an analytical tool, it is argued that beliefs contributing to the experience of felt distress are related to the way in which policing as both an identity and an activity is constructed through the police organizational culture. Not only do these constructions influence the ways in which officers perceive themselves and their environments, but they also operate at the collective level to 'normalize' some emotional responses and to 'pathologize' others which, it is argued, could impact upon the outcomes of interventions such as stress counselling.     

Self-perceived occupational stress and distress in a Scottish police force

This paper describes an empirical study (n = 699) of occupational stress in a Scottish police force. The self-perceived stress associated with a variety of organizational and opearational stressors was examined along with the associated distress in the police officers in terms of symptoms of anxiety, somatic complaint, severe depression and social dysfunction. The analysis revealed that in spite of the potential that police work offers for exposure to adverse opeational situations such as violence or death, the highest levels of associated stress lie in relation to organizational factors such as officers' perceptions of staff shortages, inadequate resources, time pressures, lack of communication and work overload. Differential rates of perceived stress are reported accordng to gender, rank and working location. This paper further validates previsous research on stress in British police and addresses the situation from a Scottish perspective.     

Burnout,job stress and violent behaviour among Dutch police officers

Much has been published on burnout in the human services. However, despite the extensive literature on job stress in policing, burnout in police officers has rarely been studied. The present study examined stressors in police work, focusing specifically on the lack of reciprocity that officers experience in relations with civilians, colleagues and the police service. It also investigated the relationship between burnout and the attitudes of officers towards violence, as well as to their own use of violence. Dutch police officers (N = 358) completed a self-report questionnaire. The results showed that: (1) organizational stressors were more prevalent than task-related stressors; (2) compared to other service jobs, police officers report a particular profile on the three scales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)?a relatively low level of emotional exhaustion,an average level of depersonalization, and a high level of personal accomplishment; (3) burnout is associated with a lack of reciprocity between investments and outcomes in the relations that officers have with citizens, colleagues and their organization; and (4) burnout is positively related to attitudes towards use of violence and the use of violence during the officers' duty.     

Burnout, job stress and violent behaviour among Dutch police officers

Much has been published on burnout in the human services. However, despite the extensive literature on job stress in policing, burnout in police officers has rarely been studied. The present study examined stressors in police work, focusing specifically on the lack of reciprocity that officers experience in relations with civilians, colleagues and the police service. It also investigated the relationship between burnout and the attitudes of officers towards violence, as well as to their own use of violence. Dutch police officers (N = 358) completed a self-report questionnaire. The results showed that: (1) organizational stressors were more prevalent than task-related stressors; (2) compared to other service jobs, police officers report a particular profile on the three scales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)?a relatively low level of emotional exhaustion,an average level of depersonalization, and a high level of personal accomplishment; (3) burnout is associated with a lack of reciprocity between investments and outcomes in the relations that officers have with citizens, colleagues and their organization; and (4) burnout is positively related to attitudes towards use of violence and the use of violence during the officers' duty.     

Employees' perceptions of organizational restructuring: The role of social support

Organizational change and restructuring is often perceived as leading to increased occupational stress, impacting negatively on the psychological well-being of employees. This pragmatic study investigates the role of social support and dispositional affect as moderators of role stress post-restructuring for employees in a public utility company. A total of 176 employees, including 37 managers, 60 graded staff and 78 industrial staff completed a self-report questionnaire, approximately 1 year postrestructuring, retrospectively assessing role conflict, ambiguity, overload and positive and negative feedback pre- and post-restructuring. Results suggested that overall role stress increased for managers/ senior officers and graded staff, but not for industrial staff. Social support was linked with lower role stress, more positive feedback and less negative feedback at post-restructuring. For certain role stressors this impact was moderated by dispositional affect, but the effect was not consistent across occupational groups. Positive affect enhanced the effect of manager support in reducing role conflict for graded staff, and the effect of co-worker support in increasing positive feedback and reducing negative feedback for industrial staff. Findings suggest that managers should pay particular attention to support and feedback for employees during periods of chronic occupational stress following organizational restructuring.     

Job stressors,coping, and psychological distress among Japanese employees: Interplay between active and non-active coping

In this study the sole and the combined effects of active and non-active forms of coping on psychological distress across various kinds of job stressors were examined. Data on job stressors, coping and psychological distress were obtained from 4487 male employees of a research institute in the automobile industry in Japan (mean age=36.27 years, SD = 7.43). A hierarchical moderated multiple regression analysis was conducted to estimate and test the significance of the main effects and their interactions. The results show that although active coping was effective in decreasing psychological distress regardless of the type of job stressor, the effectiveness was weaker in situations that require effortful coping, such as role ambiguity and insufficient authority. Furthermore, the effectiveness of active coping was influenced by the other strategies, especially in effortful coping situations. While distancing or seeking social support improved the effectiveness, restraint coping reduced it. These results suggest that the type of non-active coping that individuals combine with active coping can be critical in determining health outcomes in more complex and effortful coping situations. Consideration of the coping combinations, not merely the situational context, is important in explaining how the work environment influences employees' psychological distress.     

Employees' perceptions of organizational restructuring: the role of social support

Organizational change and restructuring is often perceived as leading to increased occupational stress, impacting negatively on the psychological well-being of employees. This pragmatic study investigates the role of social support and dispositional affect as moderators of role stress post-restructuring for employees in a public utility company. A total of 176 employees, including 37 managers, 60 graded staff and 78 industrial staff completed a self-report questionnaire, approximately 1 year postrestructuring, retrospectively assessing role conflict, ambiguity, overload and positive and negative feedback pre- and post-restructuring. Results suggested that overall role stress increased for managers/ senior officers and graded staff, but not for industrial staff. Social support was linked with lower role stress, more positive feedback and less negative feedback at post-restructuring. For certain role stressors this impact was moderated by dispositional affect, but the effect was not consistent across occupational groups. Positive affect enhanced the effect of manager support in reducing role conflict for graded staff, and the effect of co-worker support in increasing positive feedback and reducing negative feedback for industrial staff. Findings suggest that managers should pay particular attention to support and feedback for employees during periods of chronic occupational stress following organizational restructuring.     

Daily reports of distress: Not for women only

Abstract

A context-dependence paradigm was developed for research into effects of the menstrual cycle in women. This involved the investigation of situational effects on self-reported distress in both men and women. For 35 consecutive days, 25 women and 36 men working in two occupations that varied in degree of situational stress completed Body Awareness Questionnaires (modified menstrual distress questionnaires) and daily subjective stress ratings. After controlling for contraceptive use, age range, and percentage of body fat, the following variables were selected for a multiple regression analysis as predictors of distress: (a) job stress, (b) feminine values, (c) life stress, (d) subjective stress, (e) type of job, (f) sex, (g) job experience, and (h) history of menstrual distress. Women working in the high-stress job (military police) reported significantly more distress than all the other groups. Life stress was identified as the dominant predictor of distress. In a separate analysis of daily distress scores and menstrual cycle phases for all the women, there was no interaction between the type of job and the menstrual cycle phase on reports of distress. A similar analysis of the effects on sex and shift revealed shift effects in distress for men but not women. Sources of variability for both sexes (shift-work rotation and cycle phase) are discussed.     

Job stressors, coping, and psychological distress among Japanese employees: interplay between active and non-active coping

In this study the sole and the combined effects of active and non-active forms of coping on psychological distress across various kinds of job stressors were examined. Data on job stressors, coping and psychological distress were obtained from 4487 male employees of a research institute in the automobile industry in Japan (mean age=36.27 years, SD = 7.43). A hierarchical moderated multiple regression analysis was conducted to estimate and test the significance of the main effects and their interactions. The results show that although active coping was effective in decreasing psychological distress regardless of the type of job stressor, the effectiveness was weaker in situations that require effortful coping, such as role ambiguity and insufficient authority. Furthermore, the effectiveness of active coping was influenced by the other strategies, especially in effortful coping situations. While distancing or seeking social support improved the effectiveness, restraint coping reduced it. These results suggest that the type of non-active coping that individuals combine with active coping can be critical in determining health outcomes in more complex and effortful coping situations. Consideration of the coping combinations, not merely the situational context, is important in explaining how the work environment influences employees' psychological distress.     

Job stress,social support and health amongst shrimp fishermen

Abstract

Samples of shrimp fishermen (n = 211) and land-based workers (n = 99) drawn from a US Gulf Coast community are compared with regard to their degree of exposure to occupational stressors, level of social support, and extent of non-clinical depression and somatization. As hypothesized, shrimp fishermen report significantly greater levels of stressor exposure, support, depression and somatization at the zero-order level. At the multivariate level, with several covariates controlled, shrimpers report greater levels of stressor exposure, support and somatization. A model of the stress process which hypothesizes positive effects of stressors, and direct and indirect negative effects of social support on distress, is evaluated for each group. Occupational stressors predict as hypothesized, but social support does not. An explanation is offered which emphasizes the migratory character of shrimping as an occupation.     

Daily reports of distress: Not for women only

A context-dependence paradigm was developed for research into effects of the menstrual cycle in women. This involved the investigation of situational effects on self-reported distress in both men and women. For 35 consecutive days, 25 women and 36 men working in two occupations that varied in degree of situational stress completed Body Awareness Questionnaires (modified menstrual distress questionnaires) and daily subjective stress ratings. After controlling for contraceptive use, age range, and percentage of body fat, the following variables were selected for a multiple regression analysis as predictors of distress: (a) job stress, (b) feminine values, (c) life stress, (d) subjective stress, (e) type of job, (f) sex, (g) job experience, and (h) history of menstrual distress. Women working in the high-stress job (military police) reported significantly more distress than all the other groups. Life stress was identified as the dominant predictor of distress. In a separate analysis of daily distress scores and menstrual cycle phases for all the women, there was no interaction between the type of job and the menstrual cycle phase on reports of distress. A similar analysis of the effects on sex and shift revealed shift effects in distress for men but not women. Sources of variability for both sexes (shift-work rotation and cycle phase) are discussed.     

Job stress in managers,professionals, and clerical workers

Abstract

The intensity and frequency of occurrence of 30 job stressors as measured by the job stress survey (JSS) were examined in white-collar employees of a large manufacturing firm, consisting of 68 managers, 171 professional (mostly engineers), and 69 clerical personnel. The highest levels of stress intensity were attributed to ‘lack of opportunity for advancement’ and ‘poor or inadequate supervision’. Individual stressors rated as occurring most often during the past six months were ‘frequent interruptions', ‘meeting deadlines’, and ‘dealing with crisis situations’. Factor analyses of the ratings of individual job stressors identified two job-stress factors, job pressure and lack of support, which were differentially related to age, gender, occupational level, locus of control, and job tenure and satisfaction. All three occupational groups attributed greater intensity to stressors that reflected lack of organizational support than to job pressures. Managers reported experiencing job pressures more often than professionals/engineers, but attributed less stress intensity to these pressures. ‘Lack of opportunity for advancement’ and ‘inadequate salary’ were the most salient stressors for the clerical workers. Implications of the findings for the design of stress management and organizational change programmes were discussed.     

Job stress, social support and health amongst shrimp fishermen

Samples of shrimp fishermen (n = 211) and land-based workers (n = 99) drawn from a US Gulf Coast community are compared with regard to their degree of exposure to occupational stressors, level of social support, and extent of non-clinical depression and somatization. As hypothesized, shrimp fishermen report significantly greater levels of stressor exposure, support, depression and somatization at the zero-order level. At the multivariate level, with several covariates controlled, shrimpers report greater levels of stressor exposure, support and somatization. A model of the stress process which hypothesizes positive effects of stressors, and direct and indirect negative effects of social support on distress, is evaluated for each group. Occupational stressors predict as hypothesized, but social support does not. An explanation is offered which emphasizes the migratory character of shrimping as an occupation.     

Sources of stress in the national health services: A comparison of seven occupational groups

This paper reports a comparative study of sources of occupational stress affecting the seven major occupational groups within the National Health Service. The groups are compared on seven dependent variables. These are the six sub-categories of stressors identified by Cooper and Marshall (1978) and measured by the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) (Cooper et al. 1988), and a total stress score that is derived by summing scores for each of the six sub-categories. Occupational groups differed significantly (p.05) in only two of the six sub-categories. In these cases occupational groups not normally associated with front-line care reported higher levels of stress than either doctors or nurses. The results show that high levels of occupational stress are experienced by all occupational groups within the NHS and the subsequent discussion argues for a more progressive research policy that gives adequate attention to 'lower status' groups, such as ancillary, works and maintenance, and administrative and clerical.     

Job stress in managers, professionals, and clerical workers

The intensity and frequency of occurrence of 30 job stressors as measured by the job stress survey (JSS) were examined in white-collar employees of a large manufacturing firm, consisting of 68 managers, 171 professional (mostly engineers), and 69 clerical personnel. The highest levels of stress intensity were attributed to 'lack of opportunity for advancement' and 'poor or inadequate supervision'. Individual stressors rated as occurring most often during the past six months were 'frequent interruptions', 'meeting deadlines', and 'dealing with crisis situations'. Factor analyses of the ratings of individual job stressors identified two job-stress factors, job pressure and lack of support, which were differentially related to age, gender, occupational level, locus of control, and job tenure and satisfaction. All three occupational groups attributed greater intensity to stressors that reflected lack of organizational support than to job pressures. Managers reported experiencing job pressures more often than professionals/engineers, but attributed less stress intensity to these pressures. 'Lack of opportunity for advancement' and 'inadequate salary' were the most salient stressors for the clerical workers. Implications of the findings for the design of stress management and organizational change programmes were discussed.     

Psychosocial stressors at work, psychological stress and musculoskeletal symptoms in the care for the elderly

This study was conducted in order to determine how occupational stressors (psychosocial stressors and physical load) are related to psychological stress (symptoms) and musculoskeletal symptoms among staff of Finnish residential homes, nursing homes and home help services (n = 204). Data obtained from questionnaires was used to test two hypotheses: that psychosocial stressors (time pressure, troublesome patients with dementia) are associated with psychological stress, and that musculoskeletal disorders are associated with physical load. The authors also tested whether psychological stress has a mediating effect between psychosocial stressors and musculoskeletal symptoms. The findings supported the hypothesis regarding the mediating effect of psychological stress.