BURNOUT AMONG CANADIAN POLICE MANAGERS

Abstract

The occupational stress of policing is receiving greater attention from police forces and researchers. The present study assessed burnout, as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), in a heterogeneous sample of 135 Canadian police managers. Results show that few of these police managers could be classified as burned out because only 3.7% of the sample fell into phase VIII of Golembiewski and Munzen‐rider's phase model of burnout. Comparisons of these results to the MBI norms and other police samples also show that this sample is relatively healthy with respect to burnout. Findings from this study and others in the police stress field lead to four major recommendations for future action. First, there is a need to evaluate the effects of stress interventions by organizations on the stress reactions and experienced burnout of police officers. Secondly, there is also a need for longitudinal research to examine changes in burnout phases with changes in type of duty, rank, and years of service. Thirdly, as more women and minorities enter policing, there is a need to examine group differences in burnout Finally, the phase model of burnout deserves greater attention in the police field in order to better describe and explain the nature of police stress.