Resulting from personal conflicts, group conflicts, and organizational conflicts (Stojkovic et al., 2012). As indicated by the previous studies, job stress is also negatively related to job performance (Yufen, 2009; Lucas et al., 2012). This finding poses more questions. What is the impact of job stress on the health of a police officer, and why does it result in decreased performance?
According to studies conducted by Baka (2015) and Gabarino (2015), constant exposure to stress, deteriorates the physical and mental health of police officers. The physical health of police officers was tested through blood testing and body measurements (Gabarino & Magnavita, 2015). This testing, included 234 police officers that were examined over a period of 5 years (Gabarino & Magnavita, 2015). Variables measured included blood pressure, waist circumference, triglycerides, body mass index, blood glucose, and HDL-cholesterol levels (Gabarino & Magnavita, …show more content…
These factors increase the risk of suffering from depression, obesity, and anxiety (Gabarino & Magnavita, 2015). It is evident that stress can be severely damaging to the physical health of an officer (Gabarino & Magnavita, 2015). If stress levels are not monitored, officers are vulnerable to unhealthy habits, disease, and poor performance (Yufen, 2009; Gabarino & Magnavita, 2015).
Another study conducted by Baka (2015), analyzed the impact of stress on an officer’s mental health. Questionnaires were provided to 625 police officers, regarding stress from job demands (Baka, 2015). Job demands were defined as work conflicts, organizational constraints, and workload (Baka, 2015). Additional questions were asked at the end of the survey, regarding the mental state of the officer (Baka, 2015).
Results displayed that an officer with higher job demands demonstrated higher levels of stress (Baka, 2015). High stress officers reported more mental health complaints than low stress officers (Baka, 2015). This included a lack of motivation, exhaustion, poor appetite, self-esteem issues, and paranoia (Baka, 2015). These results display that high stress officers are at risk for depression and social anxiety (Baka, 2015; Gabarino & Magnavita, 2015). This agrees with the results of the previous study conducted by Gabarino & Magnavita