El estrés laboral (burnout) como riesgo psicosocial en la Guardia Civilun estudio exploratorio

Abstract

Introduction. Police work coexists with stress, and the case of the Guardia Civil is no exception. This stress is high, either because of the tasks of the police profession, or because of the psychosocial factors of the organization. Continued exposure to chronic stress in the workplace can lead to the development of burnout, which the World Health Organization (WHO) will include in its new classification of ICD-11 diseases that will enter into force on January 1, 2022, and consequences such as job dissatisfaction or psychological discomfort. Objectives. This study has a double objective: on the one hand, to analyze chronic stress (burnout) and its consequences (job satisfaction, psychopathological symptoms, and well-being) and, on the other, to analyze psychological capital in relation to burnout and its consequences, in a representative sample of members of the Cuerpo de la Guardia Civil. Methodology. The research, with an exploratory, descriptive, and transversal design, has been carried out in a representative sample of 604 active professionals from the Cuerpo de la Guardia Civil. The measurement instruments used were: the Spanish adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS), by Maslach and Jackson (1996), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) by Goldberg and Williams (1988), the Symptom Assessment-45 Scale (SA-45) by Davidson et al. (1997), the Overal Job Satisfaction Scale [Escala General de Satisfacción Laboral, SALAB], developed by Warr, Cook and Wall (1979) and the Psychological Capital Questionnaire [Cuestionario de Capital Psicológico, OREA] by Meseguer-de Pedro et al. (2017). In addition, sociodemographic, employment and temporary work disability data were collected. Regarding the statistical analysis, in first place the descriptive analyzes of the sociodemographic, labor, and clinical background variables of the participants were carried out. Second, the descriptive analysis of the data corresponding to the different main variables, the analysis of correlations and the differences in means according to the different sociodemographic and labor variables; and finally, the regression analyzes to know: - The degree of relationship of the sociodemographic and labor variables, job satisfaction, perceived psychological health and psychological capital, in each of the dimensions of burnout. - The degree of relationship of the sociodemographic and labor variables, job satisfaction, perceived psychological health and psychological capital, in occupational health. - The degree of relationship of the sociodemographic and labor variables, burnout, job satisfaction and psychological capital on perceived psychological health. Conclusions. Among the conclusions of the study, we can highlight that 22.4% of the sample of active members of the Cuerpo de la Guardia Civil has a burnout profile. No statistically significant differences were found with respect to sex, having or not having a partner, or residing or not at casa-cuartel. Statistically significant differences are related to age, hierarchical level and having or not having people under their command. Job satisfaction, perceived psychological health, and psychological capital are predictors of the burnout profile. 19.2% of the sample is at risk of poor psychological health, a figure higher than the 12.51% found in the working population in the ENSE-2017 survey. No psychopathological symptoms were detected in the sample, although their mean distribution was different with respect to the general population. Psychological capital is greater when you have people under your command.