Impact of Training on Officer Stress

Stress is a common factor in the contemporary society, which manifest in different styles depending on the situation. It is said that the uppermost levels of stress are earmarked to individuals who undertake the roles of authority figures, such as the police force. It is evident that stress has become a major problem of police officers due to the dangers and risks, administrative encumbrance, and the burdens of safeguarding the public. Stress can cause multitude problems in the officers professional and social life. It can lead to numerous sicknesses, and when the officer brings such stress home, it can make his or her family feel negative towards the job. Notably, training the officers has been found as one the best remedies to handle stress at work even at home. Although it will not stop work-related stress, it will assist the officers to manage them in a manner that does not affect their professional and social life.

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One of the best remedies, according to Herrington and Pope (2014), to manage stress is training. McCraty and Nila, (2016) define employee training as the act of equipping workers with the knowledge and skills that are needed to perform a certain duty or solve a particular problem. Training usually involves a prepared activity for enhancing technical knowledge and skills in workers for them to be performers and achievers. Some of the difficult tasks to manage are conflict and stress at workplace, especially to individuals who have been given critical duties by the public where a lot of expectations are bestowed on them.

Training allows police officers to be responsible when handling materials, machines, time, and other resources. McCraty and Nila (2016) say that it is more important to prevent the sources of stress than to look for solutions when stress has struck. As such, it is imperative for police officers to be very responsible in every task they are undertaking to avoid failure that will later manifest into stress. Notably, through training police officers will identify every aspect of duty and components that if not handled carefully will lead to pressure. For example, issues such as time management, the following instruction, and being obedient can only be strengthened through training.

Additionally, through training, the stress police office will know that initiation of an active relationship with others is one the most important way of coping up with stress. McCraty and Nila, (2016) posit that, in nature, social contact is an antidote to stress. That is, talking face-to- face with a keen listener assist in calming the nervous system and relieving the stress quickly. On the same note, training help workers in general to break bad habits. The habits at work are issues like refusal to accept change, trying to control things that are uncontrollable, and resisting perfectionism. Therefore, when bad habits can be eliminated through training, police officers will face little stress.

In conclusion, stress is one of the issues that may make an employee hate his/her job, and even extent hatred to other people like the family members. Therefore, it needs a fast prevention mechanism before it damages several things. Notably, one of the ways to handle it is through training. Mainly, training will guide police officers on the main issues that initiate stress. Moreover, training will point certain key issues on how to handle stress without interfering with professional and social life.

References

Herrington, V., & Pope, R. (2014). The impact of police training in mental health: an example from Australia. Policing and society, 24(5), 501-522.

McCraty, R., & Nila, M. (2016). 15 The impact of resilience training on officers wellness and performance. Stress in Policing: Sources, Consequences and Interventions, 257.

Silverstone, P. H., Krameddine, Y. I., DeMarco, D., & Hassel, R. (2013). A novel approach to training police officers to interact with individuals who may have a psychiatric disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 41(3), 344-355.