Factors Reducing Occupational Stress in Police Officers: Junior Officers' View
| Published date | 01 July 1983 |
| Date | 01 July 1983 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8305600307 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
DR.
GISLI H. GUDJONSSON,
Lecturer in Psychology, Institute
of
Psychiatry,
University
of
London.
FACTORS
REDUCING
OCCUPATIONAL
STRESS IN
POLICE OFFICERS:
JUNIOR
OFFICERS'
VIEW
INTRODUCTION
Gudjonsson and Adlam (1982) recently discussed senior officers'
views of factors considered to reduce occupational stress in British
police officers. Most of the officers tested agreed that the following
factors would reduce occupationalstress experienced: better training
in how to cope with demanding situations, having greater support
from senior colleagues, improved police-community relations,
having fewer bueaucratic obstacles and better familiarity with police
procedures. Only a small minority agreed that being armed would
reduce stress. Similarly, the majority did not believe
that
more
powers of arrest and search would reduce stress. These results
suggested
that
the majority of relatively senior British police officers
emphasize professionalisation rather than power as a source of stress
reduction.
The present study aimed to replicate the previous work by
presenting relatively
junior
officers' views of stress-reducingfactors.
Junior
police officers have been shown to differ markedly from
senior officers with respect to some occupational demands and
stressors (Gudjonsson and Adlam, 1983). Organizational stressors
appear to be particularly evident among the senior ranks, whereas in
the case of
junior
officers, sometimes referred to as the "front-line"
workers, stress reactions appear more related to having to pass
qualifying examinations and face unfamiliar/unpredictable
situations. The present study employed two groups of relatively
junior
officers: (i) probationary constables, who had had limited
police experience but worked largely in direct contact with the
public, (ii) recently promoted sergeants who were still relatively
junior
but
had had recent promotion and increased responsibility.
It
was expected
that
some difference in the pattern of scores might be
noted between the constables
and
the sergeants, reflecting greater
organizational pressure likely to exist in the case of the latter.
July 1983 251
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