The impact of COVID-19 on the workplace wellbeing of police services in Australia

Workplace wellbeing is a fast-developing subject in employment relations. This qualitative study examined the workplace wellbeing of police during COVID-19. There has been a significant critique of the narrow focus only on individual resilience and stress as the cause of workers' poor mental he...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Labour & industry (Brisbane, Qld.) Qld.), 2022-01, Vol.32 (1), p.28-54
Main Authors: Bamberry, Larissa, Neher, Alain, Jenkins, Stacey, Sutton, Clare, Frost, Mark, Roberts, Russell, Dwivedi, Abhishek, OMeara, Peter, Wong, Alfred
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Emergency services
Employment
Environmental aspects
frontline emergency service workers
Health research
Mental health
Mental health services
Organizational culture
Police
Qualitative research
Resilience
Sociocultural factors
Stress
Trauma
Well being
Workers
Workplace wellbeing
Workplaces
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Summary:Workplace wellbeing is a fast-developing subject in employment relations. This qualitative study examined the workplace wellbeing of police during COVID-19. There has been a significant critique of the narrow focus only on individual resilience and stress as the cause of workers' poor mental health and wellbeing. Research into frontline workers' mental health and wellbeing has mainly focused on the cumulative effect of trauma and operational stress injuries on individual resilience, with insufficient consideration of the impact of organisational culture, systemic and environmental factors. Drawing on a survey of 665 police professionals from all states and territories in Australia, this research investigated individual, the nature of work, organisational and environmental factors that negatively impacted worker wellbeing during the pandemic. The paper concludes that incorporating the full range of factors related to workplace wellbeing would inform an improved, holistic approach to maintaining and enhancing employee wellness. Understanding the influence of these factors during COVID-19 has implications for employment relations theory and the practical management of frontline emergency service workers' workplace wellbeing generally and in times of crisis and disruption.
ISSN:1030-1763
2325-5676
DOI:10.1080/10301763.2022.2034090