Summary
Understanding the Influence of Organizational Stressors on the Mental Wellness of Police Officers .
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Authors
Judy Jeraisi Seguton
Anastacia Wanjiru Muriithi
Kenneth Gitiye Kiambarau
Abstract
Ideally, organizational structures should support police officers by providing clear job roles, manageable workloads, and effective administrative systems to promote mental wellness. Globally, however, officers face stressors such as heavy workloads, role ambiguity, and bureaucratic inefficiencies that contribute to depression, anxiety, and burnout. In Kenya, these challenges are even more pronounced, with officers frequently reporting job dissatisfaction and poor psychological health due to excessive organizational stressors, yet limited research has focused on their impact in rural contexts like Lungalunga Sub-County. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of organizational stressors on the mental wellness of police officers in Lungalunga Sub-County, Kwale County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Job DemandsControl Model and the Multilevel Model of Well-being at Work. A descriptive research design was employed, targeting all 61 police officers in the Sub-County. Using a census approach, all officers were included, eliminating sampling error. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and standardized tools (PHQ-9, GAD-7, PC-PTSD). Analysis involved descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and regression using SPSS. Correlation results showed a strong positive relationship between organizational stressors and mental wellness (r = .969, p < 0.01). Regression revealed that organizational stressors explained up to 79.9% of the variance in depression outcomes. The study concludes that organizational inefficiencies critically undermine officer well-being and recommends clarifying job roles, redistributing workloads, and institutionalizing wellness programs to improve officers’ psychological resilience and service delivery.