Quality of work life, emotional and physical well-being of police personnel in India
| Author | Chenab,Ashu Khanna,Radha Yadav |
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14613557211064055 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
Quality of work life, emotional and physical
well-being of police personnel in India
Radha Yadav
Christ University Bangalore, India
Ashu Khanna
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India
Chenab
The Shri Ram School Aravali, Gurgaon, India
Abstract
The job profile of police officers places exceptional demands on them leading to risks to life, personal discomfort and
stress. This article aims to examine how the physical and emotional well-being of police personnel is affected by their
perceived quality of work life (QWL). The study looked at the questionnaire responses of 234 police personnel.
Emotional well-being is measured as the absence of depression, emotional hyperactivity, difficulty relaxing, irritability
and anxiety, whereas physical well-being is measured as the presence of diabetes, thyroid problems, insomnia and obesity.
The study assessed police perceptions of QWL as provided by the government. The study findings are segregated for
QWL on the basis of dominant ill-being and dominant well-being. Factors such as career and development, working envir-
onment, safety, work load, compensation and fear of punishment should be carefully analysed and improved. Some 71.8%
of the respondents suffered from two or more emotional ailments; 70% suffered from two or more physical ailments.
Findings suggest that QWL dimensions that fall within dominant ill-being need to be addressed immediately by policy
makers and management to improve police well-being.
Keywords
Quality of work life, emotional well-being, physical well-being, Indian police personnel
Submitted 12 Jul 2021, accepted 6 Sep 2021
Introduction
Police personnel are the most visible government represen-
tatives and are the custodians of law and order within the
state. The complex nature of criminal cases and the ever-
increasing numbers of crimes create difficulties and chal-
lenges for police personnel, adding to the stress and strain
experienced by already overburdened police staff.
Unfortunately, limited resources, including time, within
the old system of police departments further aggravate the
problem. The Indian Police Act 1861 mandates that
‘Every police officer shall be considered to be always on
duty’. Before independence, the British Crown developed
the police in India as an armed force, primarily to protect
British interests through oppression and subjugation. After
independence, the objective of police departments in India
shifted from focusing solely on maintenance of the ruler’s
authority to providing a public service. Sadly, no new sub-
stantial work-related norms have been adopted over the
decades. The police’s responsibilities have increased expo-
nentially with no proportionate improvement in resources
or norms (Lambert et al., 2015; Verma and Gavirneni,
2006). Robbins defined quality of work life (QWL) as:
Corresponding author:
Radha Yadav, Christ University, Hosur Rd, Bhavani Nagar, S.G. Palya,
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560029 Bangalore, India.
Email: yadavradhika121@gmail.com
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2022, Vol. 24(1) 89–99
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557211064055
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