Searching for Stress in All the Wrong Places: Combating Chronic Organizational Stressors in Policing

Much of the literature on police‐related stress has focused on its intrapersonal nature, particularly in terms of the impact of such stressors as traumatic incidents and life‐or‐death decision‐making. Traditional remedies have generally focused on one of two models: (1) clinical intervention through psychological counseling or (2) individual coping through training programs that teach stress‐reducing techniques ranging from exercise to transcendental meditation. Yet neither these causes nor their accompanying solutions address the chronic sources of organizationally induced stress that have the capacity for taking a far greater toll on the long‐term health and well‐being of police personnel. From unclear expectations to inadequate communications, insufficient rewards, and autocratic management practices, this paper explores the dynamics of organizational stress in policing, along with potential strategies for proactively combating it.