An Investigation Into Work Stress Management In The Namibian Police Force In The Khomas Region

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Numerous incidents related to work stress have been reported in the media. Aggressiveness and use of force are some of the evidence in reports of the Namibian Police Force. As with many other countries, police officers in Namibia have a higher propensity to be stressed because of the nature of their work where they are constantly encountering trouble, crisis and conflict in the work environment. The present study was aimed at investigating work stress management in the Namibian Police Force in the Khomas Region. 150 employees were chosen using stratified random sampling and judgmental sampling methods. The sample size for this study was not large enough to generalise to other regions or towns, which were not part of this study since the study was only conducted in the Khomas region.

Methods: The methods used to collect data were both qualitative and quantitative which involved questionnaires and interviewing the respondents. To analyse the qualitative data, the researcher categorized the data into themes. Additionally, the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 15.0 was used in analyzing Quantitative collected data.

Results: The results of the study revealed that work stress does exist in this organisation due to the stressful nature of police work. Causes of work stress were related to things such as the shortage of staff and lack of resources, work load, poor remuneration and poor working conditions, resulting in negative impacts such as alcohol and drug abuse, absenteeism and turnover. Work stress management was revealed to be poor in this organisation.

Recommendations: It is therefore recommended that, the physical conditions of workplaces be improved to suit the work environment, workloads be in line with workers’ capabilities and resources. Additionally, employees’ roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined and employees should be allowed to partake in decisions and actions affecting their jobs. Similarly, various interventions to manage occupational stress should be implemented. There is also a need to conduct further research which incorporates a sample which will give a holistic view on the true nature, complex sources and effects of work-related stress to the Namibian Police Force employees.

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Keywords: Work stress, Management, Stress, Stressors, Namibian Police Force, Civilians and Police Officers.