WELLBEING

Why some security personnel cope better than others in a high stress work environment

Background: work stress in the South African security industry has not been comprehensively researched or documented. This research piece, conducted as part of a doctorate degree in industrial psychology, includes findings from a self-developed coping questionnaire and an existing personality questionnaire with 381 security personnel, to explore commonly used coping techniques.

By Dr Gerhard Schoeman, Industrial Psychologist.

Security personnel work in a high risk and, consequently, high stress environment. Any aspect of the organisation, including the physical environment, structures, roles or relationships, can cause negative stress (distress). Poor communication is one of the most common causes of stress in organisations. Working shifts or overtime can also be a major source of stress. People who work in dangerous environments such as the security industry, and encounter threats to their own lives as part of their work, experience even more distress. Similarly, those who witness the death and injury of colleagues or civilians will also experience a higher level of stress, which may negatively affect their wellbeing. If they don’t use effective coping strategies, they will remain stressed, and this could have a negative impact on them as well as their organisation or community.

Stress is generally defined as any circumstances that threaten, or are perceived to threaten, a person’s wellbeing and thereby exceeds their ability to cope. The threat may be in the form of their immediate physical safety, self-esteem, reputation, peace of mind or anything that they value. Work stress is consequently a mental state that can cause behavioural disorders in individuals and has become one of the greatest health issues in the modern world. Some of the stressors experienced by security personnel might be chronic in nature, such as fearing for their lives as a result of high crime rates.

The safety of others can also be affected by the stress being experienced by one of their team. In extreme circumstances the outcome could be suicidal tendencies or actual suicide, and this is supported by the high suicide rate among South Africa’s security guards, police and military personnel.

Individuals use a variety of coping strategies across different situations, but that said, no strategy guarantees a successful outcome and effective strategies will vary depending on the nature of the situation. Even the healthiest coping responses may turn out to be ineffective in some circumstances.

Coping strategies: the positive and the negative

Science has identified nine healthy coping strategies for security personnel. These include:

1. Training

2. Physical exercise

3. Social support

4. Group cohesion

5. Humour

6. Healthy sleeping habits

7. Healthy diet 8. Religion

9. Relaxation

Three unhealthy coping strategies have also been scientifically determined:

1. Avoidance: whether with the use of alcohol, medication or transference and suppression of emotions

2. Denial

3. Social media addiction

Researchers have found that personality traits are some of the strongest predictors of a person’s wellbeing. Coping strategies have a tendency to be repeated and to become a habitual response. These coping styles tend to become part of the individual’s personality structure. The research results suggest that personality, and in particular neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness to experience and agreeableness, all contribute fundamentally to the use of either avoidance, training, physical exercise, relaxation, sleep or religion as coping strategies.

Both neuroticism (an individual’s emotional stability and tendency to experience negative feelings in response to their environment) and avoidance had a negative correlation, implying that if respondents scored high in these areas, they tended to make use of unhealthy coping strategies such as taking out their anger and frustration on other people or objects, and/or using alcohol or medication to deal with their stressful circumstances.

Conscientiousness relates to perseverance, responsibility and being organised. Respondents who scored high in this area maintained their physical health through regular exercise, healthy sleeping habits and making time for themselves to relax. They did not avoid dealing with stressful situations – rather they would choose to actively deal with them.

Openness to experience involves a person’s willingness to experience new or different things. Respondents who scored high in this category did not avoid dealing with stress but rather tried different approaches.

Agreeableness, the degree to which a person is able to get along with other people, and the compassion they have for others, saw high scorers finding comfort in their religions and sporting activities through interacting with other people.

Concerns

One of the concerns that emerged during the research is a seeming lack of trust among security personnel. The majority of respondents (64%) indicated that they did not trust their colleagues with their lives. To this end, they went on to say that they would rather rely on friends and family for social support than their colleagues.

It is therefore very important to select security personnel whose personality traits embrace healthy coping strategies. Similarly, it’s important to identify specific coping strategies in employees in order to be able to develop targeted stress management interventions. These will not only contribute to the overall wellness of those working in high stress occupations but will also promote healthy organisations and foster positive community relationships.