Människan bakom uniformen: En kvalitativ studie om emotionellt arbete inom polisutbildningen och det polisiära yrket
2025 (Swedish)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesisAlternative title
The human behind the work uniform : A qualitative study about emotional labor within police education program and the policing profession (English)
Abstract [en]
The purpose of the study was to investigate how police officers from Umeå university have been prepared for emotional labor, what differs from education to employment and what kind of coping mechanisms and resources the police officers receive from their employer. The study was based on two different theories, the first one is about different coping mechanisms such as problem based- or emotional based coping that is used in stressful situations. The other theory is the JD-R model, which focuses on how high job demands can affect employees if they don’t get enough resources. Based on qualitative data, interviews and documents, the findings reveal how education about emotional labor was theoretically strong for the police officers, but it did not serve enough practical knowledge. The course syllabus implies that emotional labor, or mental training, are implemented in five out of seventeen courses. Furthermore, the results state that the police officers' prime resources and coping mechanism was to talk with colleagues and have an open climate where they could address their feelings after a situation with high emotional demands. The resources they received from their employer was mainly the ability to talk with their closest manager or connect with the company health program. They were also allowed to exercise during company hours and they did receive a health allowance. Our findings did show that both the school education and the employer lack the focus on the post graduate education high demands, and therefore enabling the risk of the employee to become numb to one's emotions. Linked to the JD-R model there is a risk of burnout or lack of motivation if the police officers do not receive enough support regarding their emotional demands in their work field.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 43
Keywords [en]
Coping, Emotional demands, JD-R model, Mental training, Police & Police education
National Category
Social Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-237494OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-237494DiVA, id: diva2:1951646
Subject / course
Sociology
Educational program
Study Programme for Human Resource Management
Supervisors
Examiners
2025-04-252025-04-112025-04-25Bibliographically approved