Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Notes on contributors
- Foreword
- one Introduction: Work, stress and health in India
- two Work, stress and health: Theories and models
- three Work environment, health and the international development agenda
- four Employment trends in India: Some issues for investigation
- five Rural-urban and gender differences in time spent in unpaid household work in India
- six Activity status, morbidity patterns and hospitalisation in India
- seven Occupational class and chronic diseases in India
- eight Stress and health among the Indian police
- nine Health status and lifestyle of the Oraon tea garden labourers of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal
- ten The role of work-family support factors in helping individuals achieve work-family balance in India
- eleven Working conditions, health and well-being among the scavenger community
- twelve Lessons and future research directions from work environment research in India
- Index
eight - Stress and health among the Indian police
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 April 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Notes on contributors
- Foreword
- one Introduction: Work, stress and health in India
- two Work, stress and health: Theories and models
- three Work environment, health and the international development agenda
- four Employment trends in India: Some issues for investigation
- five Rural-urban and gender differences in time spent in unpaid household work in India
- six Activity status, morbidity patterns and hospitalisation in India
- seven Occupational class and chronic diseases in India
- eight Stress and health among the Indian police
- nine Health status and lifestyle of the Oraon tea garden labourers of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal
- ten The role of work-family support factors in helping individuals achieve work-family balance in India
- eleven Working conditions, health and well-being among the scavenger community
- twelve Lessons and future research directions from work environment research in India
- Index
Summary
Introduction
This chapter examines the predictors of psychological stress among police personnel in India. In particular, we are interested in the role that emotional intelligence (EI) might play in moderating the relationship between the determinants of psychological stress, that is potential police stressors, and the subjective experience of stress itself.
A popular Indian proverb says work is worship. However, today work is more often than not seen as a source of stress rather than spiritual fulfilment. Excessive demands, lack of control and unrealistic expectations at work have made the lives of many employees unmanageable. This in turn presents some risks to employee mental health such as stress, burnout and depression. As discussed by the authors of Chapter 2 of this book, stress has been conceived in several ways, however, contemporary definitions recognise stress as a personal experience caused by pressures or demands on an individual which impact on their ability to cope (Blaug et al., 2007). In line with Chapter 2, there is a well-established body of research that has looked at the impact of stress at work on the health of the workforce. However, these studies tend to look at the workforce as a whole rather than at specific occupations. Yet every line of work comes with its own stressors and job demands which raise their own problems. Therefore, if we are to advance our understanding of the mechanisms that cause stress and that, in turn, lead from stress to poor health it is important that we begin to look more closely at individual occupations. This chapter aims to do just that by looking at the role that EI might play in moderating the impact of stress among police officers in India. The police are an obvious choice for this type of research as it is widely acknowledged that they have one of the most stressful occupations in the world (Anshel, 2000). With reference to the previous chapter, stress-related studies on the armed forces and the police are clearly needed in India. Being a police officer demands constant attention and alertness to maintain law and order in society. Alongside the usual occupational demands, the job comes with the responsibility of ensuring a safe and civilised society.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Work and Health in India , pp. 153 - 176Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2017