Identifying well-being challenges and solutions in the police service: A World Café approach
| Date | 01 June 2021 |
| Author | Andrew James Clements,Gail Kinman,Adrienne Sharples |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X19898723 |
| Published date | 01 June 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Identifying well-being
challenges and solutions in
the police service: A World
Caf´
e approach
Andrew James Clements
School of Psychology, University of Bedfordshire, University Square,
Luton, UK
Adrienne Sharples
School of Healthcare Practice, University of Bedfordshire, University
Square, Luton, UK
Gail Kinman
School of Psychology, University of Bedfordshire, University Square,
Luton, UK
Abstract
Police work presents risks to mental and physical health for officers and civilian staff. We
report a project using an innovative method that involved police employees in identifying
well-being challenges and potential solutions. We facilitated ‘World Caf´
e’ events in
which approximately 180 officers and civilian staff participated. Qualitative data were
collected and thematically analysed drawing upon the Job Demands-Resources model.
We developed themes relating to workload, management practices, occupational health
processes, and continuing mental health stigma. Our analyses suggest an environment in
which resources are insufficient to meet demands and the resulting pressures may
contribute to management behaviours that can impair subordinate well-being.
Keywords
Well-being, job demands, job resources, organisational development
Corresponding author:
Andrew James Clements, School of Psychology, University of Bedfordshire, University Square, Luton, LU1
3JU, UK.
Email: andrew.clements@beds.ac.uk
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2021, Vol. 94(2) 81–101
ªThe Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0032258X19898723
journals.sagepub.com/home/pjx
Introduction
There is evidence that police officers are at high risk of mental and physical strain (Gill
et al., 2018; Houdmont and Elliott-Davies, 2016; Maran et al., 2018; Shane, 2010;
Violanti et al., 2017). Common health problems include cardiovascular disease (Mag-
navita et al., 2018), musculoskeletal symptoms (Berg et al., 2006) and poor sleep quality
(Ma et al., 2019) as well as mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, burnout
and post-traumatic stress disorder (Foley and Massey, 2019; Klimley et al., 2018; Vio-
lanti et al., 2016). Furthermore, first responders such as police officers are at greater risk
of suicidal ideation (Stanley et al., 2016) and the actual suicide rate in the profession is
particularly high (Violanti et al., 2018b; Violanti and Robinson, 2013).
Police officers encounter a range of operational stressors, such as negative interac-
tions with colleagues and members of the public (Adams and Buck, 2010), conflict with
communities (Can et al., 2018), court visits (Violanti et al., 2016), exposure to threats
(Andersson et al., 2017) and violence (Ellrich, 2016; Lennings, 1997; Wilson, 2015) –
including the risk of killing or injuring others (Komarovskaya et al., 2011). Certain tasks
may be particularly damaging to police well-being, such as investigations of child abuse
(Tehrani, 2018) and witnessing violent death, for example, at crime scenes (Mrevlje,
2016; Salinas and Webb, 2018). Police also experience organisational stressors, such as
having insufficient resources to meet role demands (Shane, 2010), which are exacerbated
by austerity measures and enhanced public scrutiny (Duran et al., 2019; Lumsden and
Black, 2018) and a perceived lack of career advancement opportunities (Juniper et al.,
2010). Other studies have found that work–life conflict is particularly high among police
resulting from unsocial hours, unpredictable working patterns (McDowall and Lindsay,
2014; Scholarios et al., 2017) and pressure to volunteer free time (McCreary and
Thompson, 2006).
Organisational stressors may have a greater impact on the well-being of police than
operational stressors because they occur more frequently (Violanti et al., 2018a). How-
ever, some organisational stressors may increase the risk of operational hazards; for
example deploying unaccompanied officers due to understaffing heightens the risk of
verbal and physical attack (Houdmont et al., 2019a). A survey of 16,842 police officers
across England and Wales (Houdmont and Elliott-Davies, 2016) found high workload
and short-staffing were both perceived as barriers to proactive police work. Sixty-five
per cent of participants reported experiencing mental health problems, 90%continued to
work during physical illness and more than a third reported working during their annual
leave to keep up with their workload. Stress in the police has been associated with poor
health (Garbarino and Magnavita, 2015) and sickness absenteeism (Svedberg and Alex-
anderson, 2012) as well as turnover intentions (Brunetto et al., 2012, 2017; Sui et al.,
2015). There is also evidence that specific organisational stressors experienced by police
officers, such as job demands and poor working relationships, are particularly likely to
increase stress, that in turn encourages leaving intentions (Allisey et al., 2014).
Although useful insight has been gained into the well-being challenges faced by the
police, most existing studies use quantitative designs. Qualitative methods can provide
greater understanding of the social context of well-being challenges and identify poten-
tial interventions in organisations (Abildgaard et al., 2016). They can also help engage
82 The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles 94(2)
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