Occupational stress among police personnel of Wardha city, India.

BACKGROUND Police work tends to impose a high degree of stress and a multiplicity of stressful situations which can affect the physical, mental and interpersonal relationships of police personnel. The objective of the present study was to assess the level of stress among police personnel and to find the association of various factors with the level of stress among police personnel. METHOD A cross-sectional study was conducted among 102 police personnel in Wardha city. A structured questionnaire based on The Professional Life Stress Test by Fontana was given to all participants. A grading scale was used to link participant's verbal descriptions of perceived stress to a numerical scoring system being given scores between zero and five. The total score obtained for each respondent was considered as a measure of stress level. RESULTS Different stressors that were identified among the police personnel included criticism by superiors, excess work, no rewards, inadequate value given to abilities and commitments and no satisfaction from work. Seventy participants scored >15 which indicated that stress in the workplace was a problem, while 32 participants scored ≤15, indicating stress in the workplace was not a problem. A significant association was found with between age group, marital status, education and working hours and the level of stress among police personnel. CONCLUSION The majority of police personnel studied were under stress at their workplace due to a variety of stressors. This indicates the necessity to modify the organizational environment within the police force.