The Impact of Job Stress on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Police: A Study on Chattogram, Bangladesh

The Impact of Job Stress on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Police: A Study on Chattogram, Bangladesh

Prakash Chandra Roy¹, Md Shariful Islam²

¹Lecturer, Department of Criminology and Police Science, University of Chittagong, Chattogram-4331, Bangladesh.

²Post-Graduate Student, Department of Criminology and Police Science, University of Chittagong, Chattogram-4331, Bangladesh.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.807047

Received: 31 May 2024; Revised: 22 June 2024; Accepted: 26 June 2024; Published: 31 July 2024

ABSTRACT

This study explores the prevalent issue of job stress among Bangladesh Police and its significant effects on their mental health and overall well-being. It highlights the critical nature of the profession and the inherent stressors involved, to achieve better organizational and mental health outcomes. The study combines quantitative and qualitative data adopting a mixed method with an explanatory design. This study includes insights from eight experts (Key Informant Interviews-KII) and surveys 128 police personnel to observe the relationships among job stress, job satisfaction, and mental health. The results unveil a significant finding: many officers (65%) go in a high-stress environment, which correlates with a prominent level of job dissatisfaction (68%) primarily due to inadequate salary and benefits compared to their workload. Moreover, about 78% of respondents have experienced some form of mental disturbance, attributed to their work pressure. Mental health issues, including sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression, were also prevalent among the officers. A substantial connection was found with job stress and mental health (r = 0.65, p < 0.01), as well as stuck between job stress and job satisfaction (r = -0.58, p < 0.01). The study recommends increasing salaries, improving working conditions, and reducing duty hours as potential solutions to mitigate these issues. The implications of these findings are profound, suggesting that alleviating job stress and improving job satisfaction could significantly enhance the overall job quality and welfare of Bangladesh Police. Future studies should discover the effectiveness of different interventions, such as stress management training, and organizational changes, in enhancing the well-being of the police force.

Keywords: Police, Job Stress, Workload, Mental Health, and Police Job Satisfaction

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Job stress refers to the sense of strain that workers experience while performing their duties. Symptoms of this work-related stress include unpredictable emotions, restlessness when alone, difficulty sleeping, excessive smoking, trouble relaxing, anxiety, tension, nervousness, high blood pressure, and indigestion. Stress, which affects a person’s emotions, mental processes, and physical state, can be detrimental when excessive. It can impair a person’s ability to cope with their environment (Iskamto, 2021). The word ‘stress’ describes a wide range of individual stressors. The daily lives and experiences of law enforcement officials are only fully understood by those who are employed in the field (Chikwem, 2017). Both the scientific community and the public view police officers as crucial to upholding public order and they are thought to work extremely demanding jobs (Gerber, 2010). High job stress has been linked to negative effects on mental health, as noted by research (Clays et. al. 2007). Consequently, more scientific studies have been done to explore the impacts of stress (Huang, 2013). However, findings on the link among stress, job satisfaction, and mental health have been mixed. Some scholars have identified a negative correlation between job stress and job satisfaction (Wu, 2011), while others (Chandraiah, 2003) have established a positive correlation between job satisfaction and work stress. Similarly, some studies have reported a negative association between mental health and work stress (Nahar, 2013), as well as between mental health and job satisfaction (Ellis, 2006). Conversely, other research indicates a solid positive tie between job satisfaction and favorable aspects of mental health (Cao, 2022). Being a police officer is a dangerous and vulnerable career due to various circumstances, including traumatic experiences (Naz & Gavin, 2013). Police personnel are prone to have higher post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, alcoholism, and suicide rates compared to the mass people. This is partly due to ongoing organizational demands, daily experience of direct and indirect trauma, and intensified police-community strain. Ineffective emotion regulation mechanisms can lead to fatigue, burnout, and hypervigilance, which in turn can result in harsh and biased policing (Grupe, 2021).

Stress has a major impact on the day-to-day activities and relationships of police personnel with friends and family. When an officer is unable to control their stress, it can lead to dysfunctional behaviors and marital issues (Kenwright, 2008). Despite problems, stress, and uncertainty, police experience mental health problems at a rate higher than most people (Hartley et al., 2011). Police officers frequently felt stressed out while doing their duties as a result of these mental health issues (Zulkafaly, 2017).  Moreover, policing is the most challenging job in public sector organizations across the globe (Babo, 2011). Police officers may get overburdened by their duties, and if they fail to seek coping strategies and general support, depressive symptoms may develop. Olson & Surrette (2004) address the sources and impacts of stress concerning depression and anxiety. People who suffer from work depression often exhibit less care in their daily lives. According to studies, employees’ occupations are less satisfying, they skip more workdays, and they make more errors than normal. Additionally, as time goes on, the employee loses efficiency and may be on the verge of resigning or getting dismissed. Employees may become disinterested in or disengage from friends and their larger support network outside of work (Kenwright, 2008).

A person’s mental health is negatively impacted by excessive stress at work. For example, those who have gone through prominent levels of work-related stress are far more prone to experience symptoms of depression (Clays et al., 2007). Stress resulting from perceived prejudice negatively impacts psychological discomfort, mental health symptoms, and general well-being (Jackson, 2018). Like how physical health might affect happiness at work, mental health can as well. Research has demonstrated a connection between work performance, mental health, and well-being (Wright, 2000). One’s health and happiness may be predicted by how satisfied one is with their job. Alternately, a lack of job satisfaction may also have an impact on a worker’s output and result in poor organizational performance, which has an impact on society’s ability to grow economically. Previous studies have shown that job satisfaction is connected to social engagement, mental health, and depression (Aazami, 2015). Additionally, psychological well-being can influence the link concerning stress and job performance. For example, a study on Police found that emotional exhaustion played a role in connecting job satisfaction and workplace anxiety (Jackson, 2018)

Based on the data presented, academics and professionals should pay more attention to the relationship between police job stress, mental health, and overall job satisfaction. While some reports have explored the links between job stress and mental health or stress and job satisfaction, few have examined how these factors are interrelated. This study seeks to fill that gap by investigating the connection between job stress and job satisfaction, with mental health acting as a mediating factor. Research has shown a negative correlation between job stress and job motive surrounded by Bangladeshi police officers (Rahman & Shanjabin, 2022). Another study highlighted the need for effective wellness initiatives to improve job satisfaction and mental health among these officers (Ferdous, 2018). However, there is still a considerable research gap concerning the interplay between occupational stress, job satisfaction, and mental health among Bangladeshi Police. The present study assumes that the challenges experienced by the personnel of the Bangladesh Police are inextricably related and may give us a better and enhanced understanding of the same. This understanding is essential for developing and implementing effective policies to address these issues.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The ever-present stress in police work, arising from extended duty hours, exposure to life-threatening situations, and the constant pressure to uphold law and order, casts a long shadow on officers’ mental well-being and job satisfaction. This research aims to discover the correlations among job stress, mental health, and job satisfaction by thoroughly examining the predominance and sources of job stress and its effect on mental health, which in turn affects job satisfaction. To achieve these objectives, the study seeks to answer several questions: What kinds of job stress and problems do police officers face? How does job stress affect their mental health? And finally, to what extent does mental health influence job satisfaction among police personnel?

LITERATURE REVIEW

The stress of Police:

Police stress refers to the stressful aspects of being a police officer. Studies conducted by (Goolkasian, 1986) and others have shown that public employees’ morale declines when they must deal with a public that is becoming more distrustful and occasionally hostile. They have also shown that working police shifts is stressful because of things like frequent shift changes, extended periods of idleness, and the constant threat of violence (Goolkasian, 1986). Numerous stressors in policing include threats to officers’ health and safety, being bored and then having to be suddenly alert and full of energy, having to protect other people’s lives, constantly seeing individuals in distress or pain, having to keep emotions in check even when provoked, being around a gun even when not on duty, and the fact that police work is fragmented and there aren’t many chances to see cases through to the end or even to get proper feedback (Selye, 1956). The consequences of stress on police personnel depend on the kinds of things that make them feel stressed. Stress can sometimes seem to come out of nowhere. Nowadays, police are routinely called to help with community meetings, organizational needs, and child or citizen welfare issues (Fernando Jaramillo, 2005). According to Andrews (2010), police officers encounter significant levels of stress when dealing with aggressive citizens in surroundings that are emotionally charged and filled with external stimulation that could risk personal safety. Therefore, alterations in behavior, psychological responses, and logic might result from the physiological understanding of an emotional response. However, not every police officer goes through stress while on duty. According to research, police officers who make use of the psychological support offered by the departmental experts are more adept at managing their stress than those who do not (Matthew J. Hickman, 2011).

Mental Health of Police:

When it comes to mental health, police personnel have always been given little attention. Police personnel across the world are exposed to situations that might be considered psychologically traumatizing, which could result in mental health issues (Cohen, 1980). Lack of support and poor mental health have also been linked to early job termination, marital problems, and sleep problems (Osborne, 1998). According to Anderson and Garcia, police have a mixture of responsibilities that might hurt their mental health. These responsibilities include dealing with violent individuals or emotionally distressed victims, giving testimony in court, and responding to serious incidents (Newell, 2022). According to Mitchell, critical incidents—that cause a strong emotional response can impact the police’s capacity to perform either at the time of the event or in the future. The likelihood of PTSD symptoms developing in the police increases with the number of stressful events they are exposed to increases (Chikwem, 2017). In addition to the obligations that come with police, there are various other professional challenges to contend with, all of which have the potential to enhance an officer’s stress level and contribute to their psychological strain (Newell, 2022). Shift work, the possibility of workplace accidents, and insufficient management and administrative support are a few organizational factors that contribute to police officers’ stress at work (Beehr, 1978).

Job Satisfaction of Police:

According to Selye (1956), job satisfaction is a key aspect of job performance in any field, but it is especially important in police work. This idea is supported by assessing the quality of police work and understanding that upset officers can negatively affect service delivery. Officers unhappy with their jobs may also damage the public’s view of the police whereas police officers’ job satisfaction must be sufficient to meet societal expectations. However, before police agencies can implement changes that better align their departments with the requirements of their officers and the societies they serve, it is necessary to identify the factors that predict job satisfaction among police (Miller, 2009). Police leaders should be concerned with their officers’ satisfaction for several important reasons. Hoath, Schneider, and Starr (1998) identify four reasons: 1) Poor job performance may result from negative employee attitudes, especially disgruntled officers, which can harm the quantity and quality of law enforcement services provided. 2) Negative police attitudes can damage relationships between the police and the community, affecting the public’s perception of the police and its officers. 3) Police departments have an ethical obligation to care for their employees and create an encouraging job environment. 4) Job satisfaction directly leads to lower stress and fewer stress-related issues such as absence, burnout, and substance abuse.

Police officers unhappy with their jobs negatively impact service quality and harm public reputation. Research indicates that police job satisfaction is multifaceted and independent of colleagues (Johnson, 2012). Supervisor support boosts job satisfaction, while compensation and in-service training access decrease it (Dantzker & Surrette, 1996). Studies on the connection between demographics and job satisfaction are conflicting. Dantzker (1994) examined variables like schooling, ethnicity, sex, age, educational attainment, position, and service period. For instance, age is strongly linked to job satisfaction, while income and lack of supervisory support cause dissatisfaction (Okesh, 2016).

Stress and Mental Health of Police:

Research by Stogner (2020) indicates that workplace environment, organizational culture, irregular shift schedules, increased exposure to stressful events and subsequent PTSD are risk factors for mental health issues among law enforcement personnel. It was also highlighted that police are more prone to develop depression, experiencing family conflicts, abusing alcohol, and attempting suicide. Following stressful events, these negative coping strategies may make it more difficult for officers to bounce back. Additionally, they run the risk of impairing responses to significant social and professional changes brought on by the current economic situation, which will raise the need for a variety of law enforcement services (Stogner, 2020). Compared to the average population, police officers have greater rates of depression, alcoholism, PTSD, and suicide. This is partly because of ongoing direct and indirect trauma exposure, constant organizational demands, and intensified police-community friction. Unsuccessful strategies for controlling one’s emotions cause fatigue, burnout, and hypervigilance, all of which encourage the use of harsh and prejudiced police tactics (Grupe, 2021). Police officers are seen as first responders because they often arrive at a situation first, according to studies. People may inevitably encounter painful events repeatedly, and this may increase their likelihood of developing a mental health problem. First responders who deal with stressful incidents and catastrophes may develop mental health problems. Moreover, cumulative stress may lead officers to gradually develop signs of mental health illnesses and have bad memories of awful situations that occurred months or even years earlier (Velazquez & Hernandez, 2019). The cumulative consequences of trauma result in poor mental condition, and it may significantly enhance their susceptibility to physical sickness (Kelley, 2005).

Stress and Job Satisfaction of Police:

Workplace productivity is significantly influenced by things like job satisfaction and stress. Social structure and elements connected to job design, organization, and management are examples of psychosocial risks. Workplace social structures and design elements that might have a detrimental impact on people’s mental health are referred to as psychosocial hazards (Hoboubi, 2017). Therefore, stress in their lives is a regular concern. Regular exposure to unpleasantness in people, discomfort, unsettling surroundings, peril, job shifts, and other factors can cause a great deal of stress. Later, this mounting tension causes problems with both physical and mental health, which are manifested in high rates of divorce, alcoholism, decreased work satisfaction, and other things like high suicide rates. The Indian police force often experiences several distinct stresses, such as work overload, a lack of recognition, the dread of suffering serious injuries or deaths while on the job, poor working conditions, shootings, frequent altercations, and many more (Parmar, 2016). Police officers typically face a certain form of stress that is influenced by their ability to meet their physical and psychological demands. Job stress is frequently seen to be closely associated with job satisfaction, where the former having an impact on how satisfied employees are with their jobs specifically and with their employers generally. Job satisfaction has been the area of organizational study that has been most frequently studied (Spector, 1997). Researchers have discovered that employees who suffer prominent levels of workplace stress over an extended period tend to perform worse on the job, take more time off for sick leave, and ultimately have higher inclinations to quit their jobs (Ismail, 2015).

Stress, Mental Health, and Job Satisfaction:

When under workplace stress, police officers are more susceptible to developing mental health morbidities. Officers’ poor mental health may affect their professionalism, organizational performance, and public safety in addition to being hurtful to the individual. Police officers cannot thoroughly enjoy their work if they do not have a healthy mental condition (Purba, 2019). Stress is a typical phenomenon in the dynamic military, and it has been connected to a range of consequences regarding mental health and job operation (Hourani, Tueller, Kizakevich, & Strange, 2017). The literature on mental health and stress and job satisfaction demonstrates two primary themes, similar to the mainstream research on stress, physical health, and job happiness. First, a person’s mental health will suffer from too much work stress. For instance, those who suffer excessive amounts of work stress are more prone to experience depressive symptoms (Clays et al., 2007). Some meta-analytic data from other studies shows that the number of hours worked is positively correlated with the variety of psychological health symptoms observed, including dejection, irritability, anxiety, loss of concentration, fatigue, and poor sleep (Jackson, 2018). Additionally, occupational stress has a damaging impact on aspects of mental health connected to the workplace, such as dedication to the organization and job satisfaction (Velazquez & Hernandez, 2019). Stress caused by perceived discrimination has a detrimental influence on mental health symptoms such as mental illness symptoms, psychological distress, and overall well-being (Jackson, 2018). Second, a person’s work satisfaction may suffer because of poor mental health. Indeed, numerous reports have shown a direct link between mental health well-being and work performance (Wright, 2000). Furthermore, the relationship between stress and work functioning may be mediated by mental health. For instance, police officer’s emotional weariness moderated the association between job satisfaction and workplace anxiety. According to certain studies, mental well-being but not work satisfaction predicts job accomplishment when combined with job satisfaction (Wright, 2000). This challenges the proverb that ― “A happy worker is a productive worker.” These results imply that the proverb should be changed to read, “A healthy worker is a productive worker.” (Jackson, 2018).

METHODS AND MATERIALS

This study adopts a mixed method combining both quantitative and qualitative data to explain the connection between job stress, job satisfaction, and mental health among the Metropolitan Police and District Police forces in Chattogram, Bangladesh’s second-largest city. Chattogram was chosen due to its sizable police population and the lack of research on police officer job stress in this area. In December 2023, 128 police officers were sampled using a purposive sampling method, who were simply available and willing to take part. This technique has been applied for practical and convenient purposes to extract data from the sample group, the subset of the police force, as a surrogate for the target. Further, the views of eight experts are also considered as KII to evaluate the data extracted from the police.

A close-ended questionnaire composed of four parts was developed to measure job stress, mental health, and job satisfaction: personal information, occupational stress, job satisfaction, and mental health indicators. Each part consisted of their respective closed-form questions clear and simple for the respondent to answer with a single Likert scale item measuring the intensity of the experienced stress and its perceived effects. The job stress scale was derived from the JCQ (Job Content Questionnaire) (Karasek & Theorell, 1990). The scale for mental health was adapted from the GHQ-12 (General Health Questionnaire) (Goldberg & Williams, 1988). The job satisfaction scale was extracted from the JSS (Job Satisfaction Survey) (Spector, 1997). Data for the study was collected over weeks. The study questionnaires were delivered in person through interviews, ensuring all the police officers acquired enough time from their demanding schedules. Data analysis for the collected research was done by Excel and IBM SPSS Statistics 27. The descriptive statistics show the prevalence of job stress, mental health problems, and rate of job satisfaction. Furthermore, a correlation analysis was done to figure out the link between job stress, mental health, and job satisfaction.

Respect for privacy, anonymity, and dignity was followed well among all participants throughout the research. Every participant gave informed consent, affirming the right to depart from the research without experiencing any negativity. Approval from the competent authority was sought to ensure that all the activities carried out in the research complied with the expectations of the ethical guidelines regarding research with human subjects.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The study attempted to explore the connection between job stress, mental health, and job satisfaction in the police force in Chattogram, Bangladesh. No order of importance was established for the socio-demographic characteristics, such as age, religion, gender, and other variables that work in the analysis. It has been established that these variables are significantly associated, and consideration yielded significance to mental well-being and job stress among this workforce.

Socio-demographic Characteristics:

Of the 128 police officers who were exposed to this study from both the Chattogram Metropolitan Police and the District Police, an overwhelming 79.7% were males. Distribution of respondents in terms of age: most of the respondents were 36-45 years of age (36%) and secondly 26-35 years (25.8%). The majority were married (68%) and practicing Islam (73.4%). The income bracket of Tk 15,000-25,000 was most common (37.5%), and a huge portion of the officers had families of 4-6 members (50%). The majority had been in service for 4-6 years (28.1%) and were from the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (47.6%).

Table 1 Sociodemographic Statistics

The Job Stress of Police:

In this section, the present research strives to encounter some specific findings on workload, perceived boringness, political pressure, and stressful environment to comprehend the overall job stress among the police in the study area.

• Workload: The study found that 84.3% of officers feel they must do a lot of work, leading to feelings of overwork and burnout. In addition, 60% of police officers feel that they are rushed due to overwork which makes them unable to complete many tasks well.
• Perceived boringness: The study found that 67.9% of officers feel their jobs are boring while 25% of officers disagreed with them.
• Stressful Environment: About 75% of officers reported that they must perform their jobs in a stressful environment, which can contribute to anxiety and depression.
• Political Pressure: About 40% of officers felt that party or political pressure forced them to disobey administrative norms, creating ethical dilemmas and mental strain.
• Family Pressure:3% of officers felt that family and relatives try to take advantage of their job for several reasons, leading to conflicts and stress while 53.6% felt their families were unhappy with them due to job-related stress. On the other hand, 70% of the officers cannot give enough time for themselves and family due to excessive work engagement, which further enhances family pressure.

The study found that a substantial proportion of officers (65%) experience prominent levels of job stress. The most frequently cited sources of stress included excessive workload, political pressure, family demands, and inadequate compensation. This outcome aligns with earlier research highlighting the hectic nature of police work, characterized by extended duty hours, exposure to life-threatening situations, and the constant pressure to uphold law and order (Clements, Sharples, & Kinman, 2020); (Singo, 2022); (Cao, 2022). Stress levels affected their perceptions of job satisfaction and mental health negatively. Globally, police work is extremely difficult and challenging to ensure public safety and security and prevent crime. The life-threatening nature of the work renders police to higher job stress and anxiety despite the rank. (Clements, Sharples, & Kinman, 2020).  Furthermore, this stress leads to psychological strain, weariness, and deficient performance (Singo, 2022). Similarly, in this study, it is also uncovered that stress has a substantial effect on the mental health of the officers for which officers most of the time do not get enough sleep and are quite depressed. It can be figured out that after working in so stressful situations, most of the officers are adjusting or trying to live a happy life (KII-05).

Mental Health:

The study revealed that job stress considerably impacts officers’ mental health. Approximately 78% of respondents reported experiencing some form of mental disturbance, including anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and feelings of unhappiness and frustration.

• Sleep Disturbance: 64.3% of officers reported experiencing sleep disturbances due to anxiety, highlighting the influence of job stress on their physical well-being.
• Negative Social Media Campaign: 81.5% of officers felt that the negative campaign against the police on social media is affecting their mental health, leading to feelings of demoralization and frustration which was aligned with the expert’s view (KII-08).
• Personal Happiness: 50% of officers reported not feeling personally happy, indicating the significant impact of job stress and mental health challenges on their overall well-being.

Furthermore, 78.6% of the police feel that they are unable to concentrate on their daily routine activities while 48.1% felt that stress at work made them feel unhappy and frustrated. This finding underscores the damaging impacts of job stress on officers’ well-being and highlights the necessity for comprehensive psychological support (KII-07).

Job Satisfaction:

Job satisfaction is more important in law enforcement. Because the forces that deal with the existing problems of the country must be satisfied with their own work. Job satisfaction was notably low among the police officers in the context of Bangladesh (KII-01). The study found a significant negative link between job stress and job satisfaction (KII-03). Many officers (68%) expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs, primarily due to inadequate salary and benefits compared to their workload, and a huge portion (71.4%) felt undervalued despite their hard work. Moreover, 71% expressed dissatisfaction with their salary, and 82% acknowledged that coworkers often badmouth each other. However, 71.4% felt that their work mission was undermined by their superiors, contributing to the overall dissatisfaction. At the workplace, 71.4% feel they are rewarded for their hard work whereas 21.4% feel their work is not properly valued.

Figure-1: Satisfaction to salary

However, a slightly more positive aspect was that 60.7% felt their profession increased their societal status. Nonetheless, 50% of officers felt their job had negatively impacted their personal lives. The study also found that 53.6% of the officers feel that their families are unhappy with them while 42.9% of the officers feel that their relatives are pleased with their police profession. Moreover, about 77.8% of the officers feel that everyone cannot like them. Additionally, feelings of overwork, lack of recognition, and limited opportunities for career advancement contributed to low job satisfaction (KII-02). This finding suggests that addressing job stress and improving working conditions are crucial for enhancing officers’ overall job satisfaction.

Correlation between Job Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Mental Health:

The study finds that on average 65% of officers are working in stressful environments. The reasons for this are excessive work pressure, political pressure, family pressure, etc. However, due to low pay and benefits compared to their work, 68% of officers are not satisfied with their job. Also, 78% of the officers are experiencing some kind of mental disturbance due to their work pressure. As a result, they are experiencing various problems including insomnia, depression, and mental fatigue (KII-04).

The correlation analysis revealed significant links between job stress, job satisfaction, and mental health. Firstly, it reveals a strong positive link concerning job stress and mental health issues (r = 0.65, p < 0.01). This means that officers who reported experiencing job stress were more likely to report experiencing mental health problems. Additionally, a considerable negative link was found between job stress and job satisfaction (r = -0.58, p < 0.01), indicating that officers who reported experiencing job stress were more likely to report being dissatisfied with their jobs. Simply, these findings indicate that higher job stress leads to lower job satisfaction and poorer mental health among police officers. This finding has resembled a survey that examined the impacts of job stress on job satisfaction and directed a positive connection between job stress and job satisfaction among elderly bosses (Chandraiah, K., Agrawal, S., Marimuthu, P., & Manoharan, N., 2003). In other words, if the job stress of the officers were higher, the mental health of the officers would deteriorate, and if the mental health of the officers were not well then, the job satisfaction would be lower in rate (KII-06). Because job satisfaction was positively impacted by the positive aspect of mental health (Cao, 2022). Furthermore, the good aspect of mental health influences work satisfaction favorably, but the adverse facet (i.e., anxiety) of mental health has a detrimental impact on it (Li, 2022). Thus, it is clear to us that work pressure creates apathy among officers. Due to this, they experience diverse types of mental illness. Thus, we can assume that there is a connection between job stress, job satisfaction, and mental health.

Mediating Role of Mental Health:

The study discovered that mental health partially mediates the correlation between job stress and job satisfaction. Job stress directly impacts job satisfaction, but it also indirectly affects it by influencing mental health. Job satisfaction is certainly connected to mental health, while stress is related negatively to mental health and job satisfaction (KII-08). Therefore, mental disorders are important in enhancing job satisfaction among officers with high job stress.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This study concludes that work pressure is a concern among Chattogram Police officers. This study also examines the complex relationship that may exist among job stress, poor mental health, and job dissatisfaction in the case of police officers. The study revealed that work pressure had a considerable correlation with poor mental health and job dissatisfaction. The police were highly stressed out, with the majority exiting the service citing high stress and dissatisfaction with their job. This was further compounded by the mental health situation, which included sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression that are directly associated with the stress that the job poses. A highly positive significant connection emerged between job stress and mental health problems (r = 0.65, p < 0.01). A negative relation emerged concerning job stress and job satisfaction scoring (r = -0.58, p < 0.01). From these findings, police officers with high job stress levels possessed low mental well-being and job satisfaction. Such relationships among proper organizational support, compensation and benefits, and work-life balance underline a basis for improved job satisfaction and, therefore, better mental health outcomes among police personnel. In understanding such relations, strategies for support of police officers’ mental health and coping are to be initiated on the part of police personnel and then be transferred into a more efficient and effective law enforcement system.

Appropriate and effective intervention and better working conditions would thereby do wonders for the mental health and well-being of the police, which is indispensable and vital for the safeguarding of law and order in the community. Some workable solutions recommended in the study include an increment in salary and facilities, an increment in working conditions, and a decrease in duty hours. It also suggests performance-based promotion, incentives, and rewards; increase in police-public ratio; methods for stress management like meditation; reduction in political interventions to give operational freedom; and all other such interventions probed seriously. It may be worthwhile for further studies—to point out the effectiveness of the interventions in terms of stress management training, and organizational changes towards the betterment of the police officers. This alone adds value to the existing and emergent writings on occupational stress and mental health in police, not only in Bangladesh but across other South Asian contexts. It explains the unique challenges faced by the police in Bangladesh and, through practical solutions, aims to enhance their well-being.

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

On the other hand, the study does have its limitations, in that it is conducted among police in Chattogram, Bangladesh, with small numbers. So general acceptability of such results may be affected. This study is also based on self-reporting and might show some kind of bias. This would be interesting and beneficial for further research in the testing of interventions’ effectiveness, such as stress management training, and organizational changes, to improve policing practices. In any case, the longitudinal design of the study will make room for establishing a long-term correlation between job stress mental health, and job satisfaction.

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