Sex & Rank Differences in Indian Police: An Empirical Analysis

Author(s): Bushara Bano and Parvaiz Talib

Source: Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4 (April 2014), pp. 618-634
Published by: Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources
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Sex & Rank Differences in Indian Police: An Empirical
Analysis

Bushara Bano & Parvaiz Talib

Introduction

Law enforcement occupations

have traditionally been domi Fairly large literature on police stress
nated by males. With more and had been produced since the mid-1970s.
more females entering the These studies focus on issues like inten
workforce across the world and sity, prevalence, sources, and conse
emphasis being placed on equal quences of stress (Aaron, 2000; He et al.,
opportunity hiring, there has 2005; Lee, 2002). Some studies had con
been a vast increase in the num centrated on the stress of dealing with dan
ber of women police personnel gerous and violent situations or on factors
worldwide. Obviously, the fe external to the police department (Morash
males will be no less susceptible et al., 2008). But, it is also increasingly
to the everyday occupational clear that work place problems including
stresses than their male counter negative relationships with co-workers and
parts. The organizational culture superiors, opportunities to determine one's
of police department imposes dif job activities and for promotion have also
ferent treatment with officers of been related to stress in some settings
different ranks. In order to as (Brown et al., 1996; Crank et al., 1995;
sess the proneness of role stress Hurrell, 1995; Kirkcaldy et al., 1995).
among police personnel as per Coman & Evans (1991) observed that
their sex and rank, this study was because of the pervasiveness of these
carried out on a sample of po factors in police organizations, organiza
lice population. The study indi tional sources of stress are particularly im
cated that stress and sex were portant to them. Brooks and Piquero
associated. ( 1998) also noted that problems in the po
lice organization are more predictive of
Bushara Bano is Assistant Professor, Dept stress
of than are other types of possible
Business Administration, Anand Engineering stressors. Finally, Zhao et al. (2000) noted
College, Agra. E-mail: syedabushara@[Link]
that police officers' perceptions of their
Parvaiz Talib is Professor, Dept of Business
work environment had a significant impact
Administration, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
(email: syedabushara@[Link]) on multiple measures of stress.

618 The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 2014

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 Sex & Rank Differences in Indian Police

Police work generates its own unique

stresses. Symonds (1970) proposed two Research reported that racism and
sexism remained deeply embed
general areas of job strain in police-vo
cation i.e. pressure resulting from the ded in police culture,
unique responsibilities of law enforce
ment and tension arising from the orga- ,noc\ r t. .ι, ν . r·
. « . ,. τ. . ° 1985). For both minority and female of
nizational aspects of policing. Stressors ,, ,. . . _ ,,
,, .. ... ficers, the road leading to their full ac
which had been considered inherent to . .. - ,, ,
,. , ceptance in police force seemed long and
police work include physically or psycho- uncertain(
logically threatening events, such as ,η- ψ
progress felony calls, physical attacks, z
high speed chases, and the death or in- c . . ... .. . . r .
. ° f . .. .... . . „ fession, not unlike other traditional male
jury of another police officer (Violanti &
sex-typed occupations (Haarr & Mora
Aron, 1993). Organizational stressors in
, , ,, , , ... 1999), presented a rather challenging or
police work had been related to policies, . . ... . .
r , , . even outright hostile work environment
procedures, shift work, poor or no equip- , . ., cc. ,
K , v , · for women and minority officers. In spite
ment and inadequate support mechanisms r., . ., ,,,·. ., .
• ,τ, . of the plethora of literature on the rela
from superiors (Kroes et al., 1974; . ·
, r, · „ , tionship between various demographic
Violanti & Aron, 1994). Spielberger et al. c . ,. , . . . . ..
, : factors and job-related stress, there was
(1981) suggested negative encounters f . . . . .
v., ; Dft. b , ,. a paucity of empirical evidence pertain
with the public, courts and media as or- . . . . .. „ . c , ,
. , , , , . , ing to the interactive effects of rank and
ganizational pressures and psychological , ., ... . , .. ~.
. gender on the police stress in India. This
threats (Ursitti, 2011). . . ... ... ...
v ' paper aims to assess this relationship to
wards a sustainable and secure s
In comparison to other occupations,
police work has been identified as one r .. „ .
, Literature Review
of society s most stressful occupations

(Alexander, 1999; Anshel, 2000). The Vander&

exposure to these stressful conditions ...·«· u * ι λ c i
, ,, _ .. the difference between male and female
could lead to ill health of police officers, r» * u ' · * <· ι
„ . . , K , . Dutch managers in respect of work
It is important to have a productive and . . . . ,. .
, . , . . stress, social support and strains. They
healthy police service that serves as an . ... . ... .... , ,,-r
JV ., , .... . reported that although both work and life
important contributor to the stability and , ... , . , ...
v J . support were negatively correlated with
economic growth of a country. Thus, it , . .
° ... f work stress, only weak support was
is necessary to investigate possible fac- . . , . , . , ,.
J ., , , , ,, strongly correlated to each measure of
tors that contribute to work-related
ctrain
well . .
being of the police officers (Mostert &

Rothmann, 2006). Spielberger & Reheiser (199

, , , . sured perceived psychological severity
Research reported that racism and , .. n» . , , .
. , , , , ... ■ and anxiety of 30 job stressor events,
sexism remained deeply embedded in , ,. . .
... , cf. a using men and women as subjects work
po ice cu ture (Martin, 2004; Wa ker, 6 J

The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 2

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 Bushara Bano & Parvaiz Talib

ing in the university and corporate set- 147 doctors of Goa Medical College
tings. The study revealed that overall assess the impact of marital status, m
stress level was similar for men and agement level and social support on
women. However, significant differences ganizational role stress. The results i
were reported in perceived severity and cated that stress had no relationship w
frequency of occurrence of individual marital status. However role stress h
stressor events as per gender. a negative correlation with level of
management as well as social support.
Deb et al. (2006) carried out a study Chaturvedi (2011 ) investigated the dif
on 60 Traffic police officers and 68 con- ference in role stress among teachers
stables from Kolkata police to identify (both male and female) working in pri
stress among them. The analysis re- vate and government institutes. The to
vealed that traffic constables were ex- tal sample of the study was 180. It was
periencing more stress than traffic po- reported that women employees were
lice officers. Police officers were re- more stressed than their male counter
ported stress due to role overload, re- parts. Age was observed to have a
sponsibility for persons, unprofitability nificant impact on stress level. Ban
and strenuous working conditions while (2011) undertook a study on 65 poli
constables were stressed due to under personnel of Aligarh to identify majo
participation, powerlessness, responsi- stressors among them. Findings report
bility for person and role overload, that political pressure, lack of time
Kumar (2006) investigated the stress family, negative public image and
profiles of police personnel posted in the salary were the primary causes of st
police stations in Hyderabad. The ma- among police personnel. It also emerge
jor stressors affecting the life of police that stress was significantly more p
personnel were insufficient time for nounced among those police person
family, work overload, accommodation who were younger, more educat
problem, lack of confidence of superi- posted in rural areas and had less wo
ors, no time for intellectual develop- experience,
ment, recreation, to keep everyone sat
isfied, risky situations, problem of job
Women employees were more
coordination, lack of clarity in expecstressed than their male counter
tation and coping with superiors.
parts.
Bhattacharya & Basu (2007) examined
the relationship of gender and age on
untei^j
the Distress, Wellness and Organiza- The review of related studies on po
tional Role Stress among professionals, lice stress revealed that women and
Results of the study reported that lower rank police personnel are experi
women were experiencing greater encing higher political pressure, lack of
wellness and older personnel were ex- time for family, negative public image,
periencing more distress. Cardoso & inadequate salary, work overload, death/
Fernandes (2011) carried out a study on injury of fellow officer on duty, negative

620 The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 2014

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 Sex & Rank Differences in Indian Police

relationship at workplace, lack of promo- Research Methodology

tions, time/job pressure etc than male and
higher rank police officers. The descriptive research design is
used in this study. Sample size of the
Objectives of the Study present study is 500 police personnel. The
sample for the study was selected from
• Investigate the nature and dynamics the civil and armed police of seven dis
of the role stress among police per- tricts of Uttar Pradesh, namely, Aligarh,
sonnel Agra, Kannauj, Farrukhabad, Hardoi,
_ , , .. . , Auraiya and Jhansi. Quota and conve
• Explore the difference, if any, in the . ,. , , e ,
κ , η nience sampling were employed for col
quantum and type of stress among ^ ^
Pol,ce Personnel across sex and rank The ^ amo
• Assess the association between sex sured through Org
and role stress among police person- Scale (ORS). It ha
nel sors- namely Inter Role Distance (IRD),
Role Stagnation (RS), Role Exp
. Assess the association between rank Conflict (REC)>
and role stress among police person- Overload (RO),
ne' sonal Inadequacy (PI), Self Role Dis
Hypotheses tance (SRD), Role Ambiguity (RA) and
Resource Inadequacy (RIn). The ques
Hol: There is no difference in the tionnaire was translated into Hindi, the
nature and intensity of stress (mea- official language of Uttar Pradesh police,
sured through ORS and its ten con- ln order t0 make suitable for the present
stituent stressors) among police per- study, the scale was refined through item
sonnel. analysis (reliability analysis) and factor
analysis (exploratory and confirmatory).
Ho2: There is no difference in quan
tum and type of stress among police Table 1 summarizes the respo
personnel as per their sex. characteristics of the sample.
Ho3: There is no association of sex ticiPants in this study consisted
and role stress among police person- males (87·8%> and 61 females
I The significant difference between the
number of male and female participant
Ho4: There is no difference in quan- is due to very less number
turn and type of stress among police police in the state police f
personnel as per their rank. country. The BPR&D d
jj £ rpi ... f v 01.01.2012) reports that the actual
Ho5: There is no association of rank ■ ,
j . . ,. strength of women police in the country
and role stress among police person- . n t (K;cM, n
nel is 84,479 out of 15.85 lakhs (1.585 mil
lion) of total actual strength of the po

The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 2014 62

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 Bushara Bano & Parvaiz Talib

lice. The data shows that women consti- tal police force. Another major
tute only 5.32% of the total police force with women police is the scatt
in the country. The proportion of actual tribution of the women police.
women civil police to the total police is Pradesh, there are only 71 Mahil
1:18.7 (Crime in India Report, 2012). In (Female Police Station) in the
Uttar Pradesh police, the actual strength state. Also, in every female p
of women police is only 2,586 against 1.73 tion, police force is inadequate.
lakhs (0.173 million) of total police force the limitations, due care has be
(BPR&D as on 01.01.2012). In UPP, the to provide sufficient coverage to
women police force is only 1.49% of to- respondents.
Table 1 Respondents' Profile

Socio-demographic
Socio-demographic Variables Variables Sample Percentage
Sample Percentage
Gender
Gender Male 439 87.80
Female 61 12.20

Age Up to 30 years 119 23.8

31 -40 years 97 19.4

41-50 years 121 24.2

51 -60 years 163 32.6

Experience Up to 10 years 129 25.8
11-20 years 99 19.8
21-30 years 131 26.2
31 -40 years 139 27.8

>40 years 2 0.4

Hierarchical level Higher Level 8 SP/ASP/RI 8 1.6

Middle Levellnspector/SHO/SO 13 Sub Inspector 71 84 16.8

Lower LevelHead Constable 45 Constable 363 408 81.6

Data were collected across all the In addition to it, their responsibilities are
ranks. It covered Constables, Head Con- numerous. They had tight schedules,
stables, Sub-Inspectors and Inspectors. Although many of them cooperated all
Despite efforts, we could not collect suf- of them were not able to fill the ques
ficient number of responses from top tionnaire themselves. For analysis, re
police officials like Superintendent of spondents were categorized into three
Police, Senior Superintendent of Police, levels - higher, middle and lower. 16.8%
Inspector General etc. This was due to respondents constitute middle level with
inadequate number of senior rank po- 13 Inspectors/SHO/SO and 71 Sub In
lice officers in Indian police. Only 1% spectors. In this study, the bottom rung
of the police personnel are in the senior of the police department constitutes the
rank, 14% are on junior rank and 85% major part as in actual police depart
constitute the remaining part of the po- ment. 408 (81.6%) respondents partici
lice department (Human Rights Watch, pated in the study of which 45 were
2009). There are only five to six senior Head Constables and 363 were Con
police officers in a small-sized district, stables.

622 The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 2014

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 Sex & Rank Differences in Indian Police

Results & Discussion ally get neglected. This conflict between

the family's needs and demands of the
The data analysis has been carried job is a potent cause of stress am
out through various statistical techniques police personnel. These results are in li
such as Independent sample t-test, with the findings of previous studies d
ANOVA test and chi-square test. The on work-family conflict such as B
study establishes that police personnel (1988), Burke & Greenglass (19
are experiencing organizational role stress Jackson & Maslach ( 1982), Stephe
(Table 2). The mean score for total ORS Sommer (1995). These studies als
is 2.11 while the absolute value of ORS ported that work-family conflict is
is 105.65. This score is fairly high, major reason of stress and burnou
Around half of the respondents are ex- among police personnel,
periencing high medium stress. The level
of stress on seven stressors namely In
Work-family conflict is the major
ter Role Distance, Role Stagnation, Role
reason of stress and burnout

□
Erosion, Role Overload, Role Isolation,
Self Role Distance and Resource Inad
among police personnel.

equacy is well above the theoretical av

erage of two. The second most potent stressor for
police is Resource Inadequacy (RIn) with
, .... . .. a mean value of 2.332. The police per
The study establishes that police , .. Λ... T,
; , sonnel experience non-availability of the
personnel are experiencing orga
resources required for performing the
nizational role stress.
role effectively. These resources may be
in terms of finance, information, people,
As far as individual stressors are material, infrastructure, accomm
concerned, Inter Role Distance (IRD) and other facilities. They do n
emerged as the most potent stressor with sufficient sources of informa
a mean score of 2.711 (fig. 1). The stan- technology is often o
dard deviation on this account is 0.96. Researcher's visit to the rural areas
This shows that police personnel are ex- brought out lack of facilities in rura
periencing high Inter Role Distance lice stations specially. Recently, a n
(IRD). Police personnel are often living paper reported that Uttar Pradesh has
away from their families. Grant of leave overwhelming vacancy of 60% in it
on time is a major cause of concern for lice force against the country averag
them. Those who are living with their 25% even as it recorded the highest n
family were found not spending enough ber of crime cases in any state in In
time with the family due to the nature of (Hindustan Times, 22.04.2012). Thi
job. Policing is a 24 hours job. Therefore, veals the need for additional police f
demands of the family are often incom- at every police station in India. Polic
patible with the demands of job. As a called upon to maintain the law and o
result, families of police personnel usu- der situation on very wide areas with ver

The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 2014

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 Bushara Bano & Parvaiz Talib

limited number of cops. Most o

NO
vOr^rfrJOTfOOiNOVOO
CN rf
Ν®
CN cn o
q q q q
■c & ©Ο CN <Ν d
CN ON <Ν tori d
(Νd —4
On d Tf ΓΛ ON ON —η'
.SP <« •r>
Ό<N Μ —ι cn (Ν
~ — — —
lice stations in India are substanda
i-r- c/i
X
«-U

-S
υ ^ ΓΛ —r t^ —
to r NO >T> 00
o Oh-Tj-NOTiOO^ •r
infrastructure point of view.
6 rf
— rtNO 3
On CN NO Tf On •r
— ONCNNOrfONiO
>
> Z commodation facility is less
•o —

CN
(Ν ·—1 ^

pected. Only 5.40 lakhs of fam

ters were
NOavailable for over 16.40 lakhs
I 0s
^ O
; qΟ ρ
q q (ΝI NO
NO
00 (Ν Tf NO 00
CN NO CN
Ν° q
.2 Tt no
^t no 00ooCNri to*
rn toη «η
•ri «ri so ο
•ri NO o οο
00*
"5
Ό 1/3
<υ
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<«
<D
(N ro CN to m CN
Mnn,e'r)rn(Nri(N,t,t
m CN ^t ^fr
of police personnel in the country
-C C/3
J3 Crt
a (BPR&D, 2011). Approximately 4-5 po
&Û
50 o O O 00 On 00 NO
CNMOO^-ooONOovofsn-e·
n(sootr-\o»orjhnot
00 r—'
cn to
NO NO CN r~ to o lice cops have to share one room in the
£ CN n CN
barracks of police stations as well as
police lines. These inadequacies become
Ν®
Tf "=t
TfOOrfOOOOONpNOONqiN
00
q q°® NO
q o NO CN the source of stress for police person
E *
0s oo nono'
00 o Ο
r-" r-
•<3* rt
i-.* ' rt■*t «ri
•ri Κ
1—4 r ri
ri
.2
•5
-MNfnNnTf'nnNrn
<N ^t to CN to Tf CO CO n to
nel. They act as hurdles in smooth and
effective operations.
<o

sS
sM fNTt(NOOOoom«r>oo
nrtnoNOONOom«^oo —
^nooors'nObhn^
ONfoooon'nor^r'fnNO
ο O 2 — (N·— —
J
hJ
The third major stressor for police
personnel is Role Stagnation (RS). This
study reports mean score of2.292 on this
oOO<N00rtOOON0(NO
o CN 00 't o o o
q CN o
n®
Ν®
0s NO
q •ri>n(Nro«nooro\Noo
ri d d •ri 00 d d ri 00 account. This suggests that there are
NO^nn(N ·—
NO* CN (N ·—■
CN rj
CN —
i—

fewer opportunities for growth in the role

£
of police personnel. It indicates that po
Π·Λ-Ον{Ν"ΛΟ"ΛΟΟ-ηΟ
nn-^fN^omoo-HO

J
ο nh^ffiofy,4,oO'tvo,t
mr-^mo^rfOOTfNOTt lice personnel feel stuck in the same role.
Police organization is unique in the sense
that it has a narrow top with a very wide
M
c
Λ
·—
-r^00Tl\0,tOh^(v)
r^OO«TNO"^tOr^ONCN base. Most of the police constables re
C*
tire at the same level after 35-40 years
t
ON r CN ON o
no·—·'—•ον^πονοογ^'—
NO o _<
of job. Thus, the opportunities for career
ON
ONOONr-oooooNOONr
On r
q q q °) q
00 ON
advancement are very few and limited.
Ο o d
oo^oo-i-^oo
»—< d d οo dd
—* —

ο
ζΛ In addition, there is a perceived feeling
C ^o>
i—^' ON ^ r-r-ON00fO'-'fr^«
r r On 00 to to -
ce
<ù
r
r-fNoo
CN
q no ο qr-; q rrto — of lack of fairness and objectivity in the
ri — riri riri riri ri ri—" ri
riri ri -* —*ri ri
ri
promotional process. Unfair discipline,
policies and promotion often diminish
ooov-iONm^^t«nooo>o
OOO^^W-^^OOO'O
Tt «rî
in tj
Tfrirn
>rivSin"*t
Tfrf
rt«ri
in rt
tj iri
«η values and self-esteem in police officers
π
3 <L> who wholly invest themselves in the po
"θ ΟΟ
Χ) (Λ •Οίη'ΟνΊ'ΛίΛΟ'η'ΛΌ'Λ
»/~i «r> •n «o «r> «r> O •r> «r> •o •o
lice work (Gilmartin, 2002). These fac
< o 00 00 On
q<η^οοοοοα^^<Λ^θΝθ
^t
q q q q
en —«
to d o Os
o dΟ d 00
00 Ο Ο 00*
•ri Ο tors generate
00 »—' «r> »-4 stress among police per
^ — — — οO
sonnel.

The opportunities for career ad

vancement are very few and lim
ited.
Table2ORS coresforPolicePrson el
9c/3WwO_„_§<.£^
S;(2cioie£c£a.c/50iciO
SecciQiDioicuvîûiaiO

624 The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 2014

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 Sex & Rank Differences in Indian Police

Fig. 1 Scores on various stressors

2.5

1.5
I Mean
1

0.5

0
IRD RS REC RE
RE RO
RO Rt
RI PI
PI SRD
SRD RA RIn ORS

In addition to the three most potent in low

stressors, intensity of stress is also ana-
lyzed. The dispersion of the data (Fig. 2) f
helps us understand the nature of stress g
and its intensity in police personnel. The fo
overall stress table shows that 11% try
(N=55) police personnel are experiencing (
high stress level, 48.8% (244) are among h
High-Medium stress level, 32.2% (N=161 ) lic
are experiencing low-medium stress and
remaining only 8% (N=40) are reported R

Fig. 2 Distribution of Respondents as per Intensit

300

IRDRSRECRERORI HSRDRARIn

ν Low
m Low Stress
Stress a
fiLow
LowMedium
MediumStress
Stress

The Indian Journal of Industri

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 Bushara Β an ο & Parvaiz Talib

The analysis above buttresses the and intensity. Analysis revealed that po
need for remedial steps to manage stress lice personnel are experiencing differ
among police personnel. The increasing stress in nature as well as in intensit
suicide rates among police, increasing Thus, null hypothesis H01 stating that
crime rates and ineffectiveness of force there is no difference in the nature a
due to frustration and stress among them intensity of stress among police per
are expected to become even more se- nel is rejected,
vere. The performance of police impacts
wide array of sectors. Poor internal Scores across Sex
health of the organization is detrimental
to overall health of the society. The findings of the study indicat
that overall role stress for male police
The results of data analysis discussed personnel was moderate (2.09). Similarl
above are explaining the nature and in- female police personnel were also exp
tensity of stress among police personnel, riencing substantial high role stres
The most potent stressors identified by (2.25). Comparative analysis across ge
police personnel are Inter Role Distance der indicated female staff as mo
(IRD), Resource Inadequacy (RIn) and stressed group than male staff (t=1.67
Role Stagnation (RS). It is also evident p=.095). Across individual stressors, sig
from dispersion analysis that half of the nificant differences have been observ
police personnel are experiencing high among these groups on IRD (t=3.732, p
medium stress. The statistics are report- .000), RS (t=3.015, p=.003), RO (t=2.791
ing wide variations in stress level of po- p=.005), RI (t=2.512, p=.012) and RIn
lice personnel as per individual stressors (t=2.937, p=.003) (Table 3).
Table 3 Scores across Sex

Stressors
Stressors Mean SD t-value p-value

Male(N=439) Female(N=61) Male Female

IRD 2.65 3.13 0.98 0.69 -3.732 .000"

RS 2.24 2.65 1.04 0.62 -3.015 .003"
REC 1.81 1.87 0.95 0.57 -0.548 .584
RE 2.19 2.07 0.81 0.60 1.128 .260
RO 2.12 2.53 1.11 0.72 -2.791 .005"
RI 2.15 2.50 1.04 0.72 -2.512 .012*
PI 1.70 1.49 0.92 0.74 1.781 .075
SRD 2.04 1.95 0.92 0.74 0.742 .459
RA 1.72 1.66 1.03 0.76 0.402 .688
RIn 2.28 2.67 1.00 0.58 -2.937 .003**
ORS 2.09 2.25 0.74 0.44 -1.672 .095

Analysis revealed that all police per- ported very high Inter Role Distance
sonnel are experiencing Inter Role Dis- (Mean=3.13). This may be due to the tra
tance. But female police personnel re- ditional culture of a country like India.

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 Sex & Rank Differences in Indian Police

While interviewing female police person- police f^ce a constant hostility "in the
nel, it emerged that females are expected job" from fellow policemen who try to
to fulfill their homely responsibilities first, maintain control and dominance at the
Married women personnel are more work place. Men perceive women po
prone to stress and encounter problems lice as weak individuals with no real abil
as their adjustment to the police environ- ity for law enforcement (He et al., 2005).
ment is relatively low. This may be be- This type of feeling becomes the hurdle
cause married women personnel try to in promoting women in police department,
strike a balance between their domestic Thus the hypothesis H02 stating that there
and professional roles which is very dif- is no difference in quantum and type of
ficult as the job of a police officer re- stress across sex among police person
quires long work hours. Women police nel is not rejected for overall organiza
personnel are also experiencing problems tional role stress. As regards individual
while maintaining a balance between stressors, it is rejected for Inter Role
family work and office work. Females Distance (IRD), Role Stagnation (RS),
particularly belonging to nuclear families Role Overload (RO), Role Isolation (RI),
are the worst affected. Their adjustment and Resource Inadequacy (Rln). Further,
pattern in the police environment is poor, to assess the relationship between stress
This is due to the fact that there is no and gender, chi-square statistics was cal
extra help available in a nuclear family culated (Table 4). Pearson chi-square
to undertake family chores and look af- value indicated that role stress and gen
ter the children. Thus women feel that der are associated (χ2=451.9, p=.000).
they don't have time to spend with their
families and they are not fulfilling their
Role stress and gender are asso
family responsibilities in right earnest due ciated
to their long working hours.

Significant differences have also been Thus the null hypothesis Ho3 stating
observed on Role Stagnation (RS). As that there is no association between role
discussed earlier, entire police department stress and sex is rejected,
especially lower rank is experiencing the
feeling of being stuck in the same job but Overall, female police personnel re
the study further reported that females ported experiencing many difficulties in
are facing Role Stagnation more than police department. The present study
male employees (t=3.015, p=.000). corroborates the previous studies of He
Garcia (2003) argued that females are et al. (2005), McCarty et al. (2007) and
promoted easier than males but this Role Morash et al. (2006) that reported highe
Stagnation is due to being a woman. The levels of work-related stress in female
presence of women in the police force is police officers than their male colleagues,
particularly opposed by men as police The present study also supports the stud
work is stereotypically considered a male ies carried out by Pendrgrass & Ostrove
occupation (Morash et al., 2006). Women ( 1984), Weisheit ( 1987), Wexler & Lo

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 Bushara Bano & Parvaiz Talib

Table 4 Chi-Square Tests

Value
Value df Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 451.594 305 .000

Likelihood Ratio 338.194 305 .093
Linear-by-Linear Association 2.785 1 .095
Ν of Valid Cases
N 500

Scores across Rank

Female police officers were more
prone to physiological stressStaff
re at the lower level forms the
sponse, feeling more isolated and
base of the pyramid of police force.
hostile, discrimination and sexual
harassment than their male coun
terparts. As described earlier, this study did
not include enough senior police offic
ers. In spite of the limitation, the analy
gan ( 1983), Burke & Mikkelsen (2005), sis unveils significant differences am
Berg et al. (2005), and Van Wyk (2005) Lower, Middle and Senior level
which reported that female police offic- personnel. Staff at the lower level
ers were more prone to physiological the base of the pyramid of police fo
stress response, feeling more isolated and They scored significantly higher
hostile, discrimination and sexual harass- tal ORS. They come out as
ment than their male counterparts. But, stressed than the officers under w
the results of the present study are con- they serve. Non-Gazetted police
trary to the studies of Davis (1984) which ers (middle level) are experiencin
reported no significant difference in dium level of stress while the senio
stress between male and female police ficers are least stressed. It is also n
officers; Norvell et al. (1993) and worthy that significant differences
Bradway (2009) which reported male been observed on all stressors on
police personnel were more stressed than basis of ranks among police perso
females; and Swanepoel & Pienaar (Table 5).
(2004) and Pole et al. (2001) which re
ported males police personnel had more
suicidal ideation than females. While
They come out as more stressed
than the officers under whom they
comparing with the Indian studies, results
serve.
are similar to the studies of Krishnamurthi
(1995) and Bhardwaj (1999) which re
ported women police personnel are more On the basis of rank, difference has
stressed than men and more dissatisfied not been observed on Inter Role Distance
with their status and role despite their (F=4.434, p=.012). But, IRD again
valuable contribution in both traditional emerged as the most potent stressor for
and modern areas of police work. all hierarchal levels. It means that all the

628 The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 2014

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 Sex ά Rank Differences in Indian Police

Table 5 Scores across Rank

Stressors Mean SD

A(N=408) B(N=48) C(N=8) Lower Middle Senior F-value p-value

IRD 2.69 2.89 1.90 0.97 0.87 0.80 4.434 .012*
RS 2.35 2.08 1.06 0.97 1.10 0.88 8.684 .000**
REC 1.90 1.48 1.00 0.89 0.92 0.72 10.994 .000**
RE 2.22 2.00 1.57 0.78 0.74 1.18 5.060 .007**
RO 2.22 2.02 1.00 1.04 1.17 0.79 6.054 .003**
RI 2.28 1.84 1.28 0.98 1.08 0.88 10.141 .000**
PI 1.78 1.28 0.40 0.84 0.94 0.75 20.940 .000**
SRD 2.14 1.65 0.75 0.87 0.88 0.62 19.829 .000**
RA 1.84 1.23 0.37 0.96 0.97 0.74 21.845 .000**
RIn 2.41 2.02 1.25 0.94 0.99 0.88 11.150 .000**
ORS 2.18 1.85 1.06 0.67 0.76 0.65 17.562 .000**

Note: A- Lower rank, B-Non-Gazetted or Middle rank, C- Gazetted or Senior rank

* Values Significant at 95% level
** Values Significant at 99% level

police personnel irrespective of their ranks

are experiencing Inter Role Distance. It Lower rank police personnel face
was further reported that on IRD, middle Role Expectation Conflict more.
officers are relatively more stressed
(Mean=2.89) than the lower rank police
personnel (Mean=2.69) and senior offic- ran^ police personnel face Role Expec
ers (Mean=1.90). Significant difference tation Conflict more. As a law enforcer,
has been observed with respect to Role they are expected to act as a friend and
Stagnation across rank. High score on helper, while at the same time they have
Role Stagnation among lower level is un- to use f°rce to get their job done. These
derstandable. As discussed earlier, police types of situations create Role Expecta
organizational structure has a wide base tion Conflict. Lower rank police person
with a very narrow top. Thus chances of ne' a'so encounter conflicts due to am
promotion of lower level personnel to the biguous expectations of the seniors and
next higher ranks are far and few. Police their own. In contrast, senior officers and
constables often start and retire at the middle level officers do not face Role
same level. On the other hand, senior of- Expectation Conflict in that intensity,
ficers do not feel Role Stagnation at all While interviewing the lower ranked po
while middle level officers face moderate "ce personnel, the researcher experi
Role Stagnation. enced that senior officers are prone to
give orders to their subordinates without
Significant differences on Role Ex- enough consideration to feelings of the
pectation Conflict have also been ob- subordinates. Differences have been re
served among various ranks but REC is ported on Role Erosion also!. Here, again
not severe in all the three levels. Lower lower officers experience more RE due

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 Bushara Bano & Parvaiz Talib

to the feeling of lack of enough chal- Thus the hypothesis Ho4 statin
lenges in the functions assigned in their there is no difference in quantum and
role. The lower ranked personnel re- of stress among police as per their r
ported that they want more challenge in rejected for overall organizationa
their job. Middle officers feel moderate stress (ORS) as also fi;r ten const
Role Erosion while senior officers do not stressors of ORS scale. Similarly,
feel stress on this account. sess the relationship between stress
Table 6 Chi-Square Tests

Value
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 932.326* 610 .000

Likelihood Ratio 474.871 610 1.000
Linear-by-Linear Association 30.569 1 .000
Ν of Valid Cases
N 500

a. 15 cells (99.7%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .02.

rank, chi-square statistics was calculated Conclusion

(Table 6). Pearson chi-square value indi
cated that role stress and rank are asso- In the light of the above findings it
ciated to each other (χ2=932.3, p=.000). can be concluded that police personnel
in India are exhibiting clear signs of high
Thus the hypothesis Ho5 stating that work related stress. Inter Role Dis
there is no association between stress and tance, Resource Inadequacy and Role
rank is rejected. Stagnation emerged as three key stres
sors among police personnel. Interven
The present results are found to be tions are needed to cope wit
similar to the studies of Brown & stress. There is no denial that the or
Campbell (1994), Singhvi & Mathur ganizational culture of police acros
(1997), Kirkcaldy et al. (1995), Talib country has traditionally been adv
(1999), Lord (2005) and Pienaar & to lower rank and female officer
Rothmann (2005) which reported that (Alex, 1976;Haarr, 1997; Martin,
lower ranking police personnel are more Steel & Lovrich, 1987). Female pol
stressed than the higher ranking counter- personnel and lower rank personn
parts. However, the results of the present experiencing higher stress than
study are contrary to those of Pienaar & and higher rank personnel respecti
Rothmann (2006), Miller et al. (2009) The increased presence of minority a
who reported higher the rank, higher the female officers created a serious
stress. Pienaar (2002), Ortega et al. lenge to the traditional culture of
(2007), Storch & Panzarella (1996) and ing (e.g., Walker, 1985). It was a
Buker& Wiecko (2006) reported no sig- reported that sex and rank is hi
nificant difference in stress level as per associated with stress level of pol
ranks among police personnel. officers.

630 The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 49, No. 4, April 2014

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 Sex & Rank Differences in Indian Police

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