Operational stress of police officers: A cross-sectional study in three countries with centralized, hierarchical organization

Abstract

Law enforcement is a stressful occupation with both work-related and social-related stressors. Too much stress can negatively affect behaviours, mental states, and job performance. Centralized police organizations limit officers’ individual autonomy, likely increasing stress. This study examined differences in occupational stress in two different European countries and one Middle East country. Participants were 351 male police officers from Serbia (n = 130, age 36 ± 8 years), Russia (n = 121, age 22 ± 4 years), and Lebanon (n = 100, age 36 ± 6 years) who completed the 20-item Operational Police Stress Questionnaire in their own language. Items were averaged and interpreted as low (≤2.0), stress (2.1–3.4), and high stress (≥3.5). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) analyses using age as the covariate with Bonferroni post hoc analyses were used. A principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine stress structure per country. Significant differences were found with lower occupational stress in Russian (P < 0.001) and Lebanon (P = 0.003) than Serbian officers. PCA factor patterns differed by country, with six found for Russian and Lebanese and three for Serbian officers. More work-related stressors were rated higher for the younger Russian officers, while more social-related stressors were rated higher for the older Serbian officers. Results suggest that it is vital to consider officers’ stress sources and overall stress levels.

Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Version of the Operational and Organizational Police Stress Questionnaires

“…Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the PSQ-op and PSQ-org are valid constructs, providing the evidence for both internal and external validity. Recent research on occupational stress from three different countries used principal component analysis to define the operational stress structure of police officers [5]. Authors found that operational stressors grouped into more work-related and social-related stressors.…”

“…Operational content of police work includes, but is not limited to, work schedules, shift work, long work hours, court work and dangers to physical and psychological health; while the organizational environment refers to human elements that contribute to stress, such as bureaucracy and interpersonal interactions at work [4]. Furthermore, social-related stressor such as the difficulty of finding friends outside the job, not having time to spend with friends and family, and uploading "higher" picture in public play significant role in occupational stress of police officers [5]. Therefore, sources of stress in policing jobs are layered and interrelated so officers are often experiencing stress while at work but also while off-duty [6][7][8].…”

“…The Republic of Serbia is a small Eastern-European country with one large police agency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs [1]. It has a strong centralized, vertically aligned hierarchical structure, which may affect how police officers perceive and organize occupational stress [5] Although centralized vertical hierarchy may provide better control of the organization by the top of the chain of command, it limits officers' abilities to take creative problem-solving action on their own [1]. This could cumulatively lead to frustration and a socially stressful work environment resulting in increased occupational stress.…”

Police Officers Perceived Levels of Organizational Stress, Operational Stress, and Coping Strategies in San Jose, Antique, Philippines

“…Law enforcement officials face scrutiny from the public because of their prominent cultural and societal roles in maintaining order and protecting residents through law enforcement. This highly visible dynamic obscures the origins of operational strain (Kukić et al, 2022). According to a survey of law enforcement professionals, the three most stressful aspects of the job are: (1) being held accountable for an officer-involved shooting, (2) witnessing the loss of a comrade in the line of duty, and (3) surviving a physical attack (Violanti et al, 2009).…”

An Employee-Supervisor Analysis of Counterproductive Workplace Behaviours as an Outcome of Social Rank

“…Even with the widespread interest in understanding antecedents of CWB, certain predictors have been focused on to a lesser extent. In the current research, I build on these previous contributions and extended prior findings to explore CWB as an outcome of social rank in an organization often characterized by power, rank, and hierarchy (i.e., a police organization; Drummond-Smith, 2018;Kukić et al, 2021). Utilizing the theoretical foundations of social dominance theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999), and dual strategies theory (Maner & Case, 2016), I argue that an important antecedent to CWB is employee traits characterized by an inclination to engage in actions that promote social rank.…”