Work wellness, sense of coherence and health of protection services members

The objective of this study was to develop and test a casual model of Work Wellness for protection s e ~ c e s ' members in South Africa. A crosssectional survey design with an availability sample (N = 341) was used. The MBI-GS, UWES, OTLQ and Health subscale of the ASSET were administered. The result showed that Work Wellness comprises of Burnout (consisting of Exhaustion and Cynicism) and Work Engagement (consisting of Vigour and Dedication). High levels of Burnout may lead to either physical or Psychological Health problems. Sense of Coherence partially mediates the effect of high levels of Burnout on 111 Health. OPSOMMING Die doelstelling van hierdie studie was om 'n oorsaaklike model van Werkswelstand vir Beskermingsdienste lede in Suid-Afrika te ontwikkel en te toets. 'n Dwarssnee-opnarne ontwerp met 'n beskikbaarheidssteekproef (N = 341) is gebmik. Die MBI-GS, UWES, OTLQ en Gesondheidsubskaal van die ASSET is geadministreer. Die resultate het getoon dat Werkswelstand uit Uitbranding (bestaande uit Uitputting en Sinisime) en Werksbegeestering (bestaande uit Energie en Toewyding), bestaan. Hoe vlakke van Uitbranding kan moontlik lei tot of Fisiese of Psigiese Gesondheidsprobleme. Koherensiesin medieer gedeeltelik die imp& van hoe vlakke van Uitbranding op Gesondheid. Globalisation is linking economic, cultural and political processes of various countries into an overall whole. As a result, what happens in one part of the world, atfects the rest of the globe, including South Afiica (Ngema, 2002). The terrorist acts of September 2001 in the United States of America bad ripple effects throughout the world. It resulted in a more intense focus on the role of security around the world (Lippert & O'Connor, 2003). In what is commonly known as a "sea change", the character of security governance is in a process of transformation. The main responsibility of security guards or protection services' members is the protection of individuals or the protection of property (Silva, Leong & Weinstock, 1993). Protection services' members are also responsible for the safeguarding of businesses and buildings against theft, vandalism, illegal entry or fire; screening people for weapons, explosives or contrabands; and working as bodyguards to protect others (Silva et al., 1993). According to Ackerman (1999), the traditional uniformed security guard is usually a person who is recruited from the lowest socioeconomic level and who has basic formal education and limited basic skills. These people are primarily involved with physical security that is produced by the actual or potential use of force; they also provide security through symbolic means and through the use of information technology (Lippert & O'Connor, 2003). As part of their daily work programmes, protection services' members are routinely placed in danger and must make quick decisions. As a result, they are often accused of having supermen or superwomen self-images as they feel that they always have to be in control (June, 2000). They are, however, human and experience the same or more severe forms of depression, anxiety and other symptoms than other people. The word "security" is highly abstract and simply means that there is a sort of partial protection against some kind of danger for an individual or individuals (June, 2000). It is future oriented and entails planning so as to avoid or compensate for danger. Security is an ideal and not an actual state; it refers to a fervent hope that is characterised by the calculability and predictability of the b r e consequences of social conduct and a programmatic effort to control these consequences (Lippert & O'Connor, 2003). Security providers are individuals, companies or government organisations responsible for providing secure environments to others (June, 2000). The outsourcing of security services of organisations to private companies contributes to the high levels of stress experienced in the security industry. The competition is severe and organisations are encouraged to outsource to the lowest bidder (Lippert & O'Connor, 2003), which often results in an inferior quality workforce. Owing to their contract worker status, these protection services' members are often characterised as people who earn low wages, have minimal training and who have high levels of turnover (Lippert & O'Connor, 2003). The transformation of the protection services industty must, therefore, include the processes of recruitment and selection, training and development, and the management of security workforces at airports @ppert & O'Connor, 2003). The impact of change on organisations and the transforming role of the protection services member, whether private or public, implies that protection services' members experience higher levels of stress than members of almost any other profession (June, 2000). Silva et al. (1993) assert that the people responsible for protecting society from the criminal behaviour of others, such as police officers, experience significant stress and even psychiatric disorders. When people are placed in situations where they cannot control events, especially where the events may have negative consequences, responses may include depression, rigidity and an inability to make plans (Rowe, 2000). Occupational stress is an area of concern for most employers, as it may result in negative consequences for the individual and the organisation (Cooper & Cartwight, 1994; Schaufeli, 2003). Stress has become a very serious health issue, both for individuals and for employers (Lu, 1999). The link between unmanaged stress and the negative impact on health and wellbeing may have severe physical consequences (Winefield, Gillespie, Stough, Dua & Hapuararchchi, 2002). Stress can manifest psychologically, physically andor behaviourally (Lai, Chan, KO & Boey, 2000). According to Cooper and Watson (1991), Frese (1985), McLean (1980), Siu (2002) and Winefield et al. (2002), there is significant evidence to suggest that when left unchecked, chronic and high levels of occupational stress may be related to a lack of mental and physical wellbeing, job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, stress-related injuries, employee turnover and an intention to resign. According to Sisson (1998), individual wellbeing increases when their coping strategies are well developed. The reverse is conducive to ill-being, and the potential to the development of depression and burnout in a life-changing situation. Research has indicated a relationship between Health, perceived wellness and work stress (Dolbier, Soderstrom & Steinhardt, 2001) and between physical wellbeing and burnout (Gorter, Eikman & Hoogenstraten, 2000). Research over the past three decades has also shown that the experiences of occupational stress are closely related to the health and safety of individuals and to the wellbeing of organisations (Rees & Redfem, 2000). Protection services' members are no different. The specific activities of protection services' members pose a threat to their psychological and physical health (Silva et al., 1993). The emphasis placed by Rothmann (2003) on the need for further research regarding the causes, effects and underlying processes of the components of Work Wellness such as Burnout and Work Engagement and the impact of negative consequences such as I11 Health on Work WeUness for all occupational groups in South Africa, is also relevant for protection services' members. Coetzer (2004) agrees that further research on positive constructs like Work Engagement as part of a Work Wellness model should be investigated in different South African occupational groups. A healthy organisation is defined as an organisation that is characterised by both financial success (profitability) and a physically and psychologically healthy workforce, which can, over time, maintain a healthy and satisfying work environment and organisational culture particularly through change and market turbulence (Cooper & Cartwright, 1994). From this discussion, it is clear that the impact of occupational stress on the Health and wellbeing of an organisation is severe. Psychological and physical Ill Health has also been found to be related to Burnout, a lack of job resources and job demands (Coetzer, 2004). This impacts on the overall Work Wellness of an organisation. There are, therefore, certain occupational stressors within the protection services occupation which affect the Health of protection services' members, either psychologically or physically. It is important, therefore, to identify the impact of psychological and physical I11 Health on the Work Wellness of the protection services occupation.