Organisational and individual perspectives of police wellbeing in England and Wales
| Author | Rebecca Phythian,Nathan Birdsall,Stuart Kirby,Emily Cooper,Zoe Posner,Laura Boulton |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X211052250 |
| Published date | 01 March 2023 |
| Date | 01 March 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2023, Vol. 96(1) 128–152
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/0032258X211052250
journals.sagepub.com/home/pjx
Organisational and individual
perspectives of police
wellbeing in England and
Wales
Rebecca Phythian
Department of Law and Criminology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
Nathan Birdsall
School of Justice, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UK
Stuart Kirby
Crime Insights Ltd, UK
Emily Cooperand Zoe Posner
School of Justice, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UK
Laura Boulton
School of Justice Studies, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
Abstract
Individual and organisational factors have been identified as influencing personal well-
being, with an emphasis placed on the organisation and management to support their staff.
Whilst various policies, interventions and campaigns are in place at national and local level,
it is unclear how well individual and organisational perspectives of wellbeing are aligned.
This study seeks to address this through the analysis of secondary data provided by Oscar
Kilo in 2018: Blue Light Wellbeing Frameworks (organisational perspective) and Human
Resources policy review survey data (individual perspective). Whilst findings indicate
positive steps to enhancing police wellbeing, a disconnect between the organisation and
employees was apparent.
Corresponding author:
Rebecca Phythian, Department of Law and Criminology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK.
Email: PhythiaR@edgehill.ac.uk
Keywords
Police wellbeing, Blue Light Wellbeing Framework, organisational wellbeing, individual
wellbeing
Literature review
In the UK, research illustrates how poor employee health and wellbeing
1
results in stress
2
-
related absence and a reduction in productivity (Boag-Munroe et al., 2017). Whilst this is
an issue across many sectors, policing in England and Wales is particularly susceptible to
officers and staff taking sick leave due to poor psychological wellbeing (BBC, 2016;
Guingand, 2015); an issue that has ‘become an increasing area of concern’(Cartwright
and Roach, 2020: p. 1). Evidence illustrates how absenteeism, related to poor ment al
health, rose by 98% between 2010 and 2017 (Evening Standard, 2017), with recent
reports of absences associated with stress, trauma and psychological illness almost
doubling in the last decade (Cartwright and Roach, 2020); this brings with it huge
practical and financial difficulties for forces. For example, Lincolnshire Police lost 10,324
duty days and spent approximately £1.7 million on sick leave between 2016 and 2017
(The Lincolnite, 2017).
More broadly, a Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Welfare Survey
(Elliott-Davies and Houdmont, 2017) found that a third of police staff had taken one of
their sick days due to stress, anxiety or depression. Further, the Home Office (2020)
reported that approximately 17,000 officers across England and Wales were: on recu-
perative duties; in adjusted posts; or on long-term sickness or absence (an increase from
10,000; Home Office, 2017). This escalation in psychological sick leave is argued to be a
result of a rise in work-related demand, in conjunction with the organisational changes to
the police workforce, including the rapid reduction and reinstatement in the number of
police officers (BBC, 2016;Guingand, 2015). That being said, Cartwright and Roach
(2020) highlight how an increase in stress-related absences could be indicative of more
receptive and accepting attitudes towards mental health and wellbeing in policing. Either
way, efforts must continue ‘to provide earlier, better and more consistent support’to
police officers and staff (PFEW, 2020).
To effectively address this trend in police wellbeing, policing organisations are taking
strides to improve the health and wellbeing of their staff. This is evidenced by national
developments, namely the launch of Oscar Kilo
3
in 2017 and the National Police
Wellbeing Service
4
(NPWS) in 2019. Whilst this drive to support wellbeing often occurs
from a top-down perspective, there are also initiatives within police forces that are driven
by individuals, forming a bottom-up approach. Wellbeing is recognised as encompassing
both ‘the environmental factors that affect us’and ‘the aspects of our lives that we
determine ourselves: through our own capabilities as individuals; …the quality of the
relationships that we have with other people; and our sense of purpose’(What Works
Wellbeing, n.d.). As such, it is important to determine if individual and organisational
efforts to enhance wellbeing are aligned.
Phythian et al. 129
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