Introduction

This chapter examines the predictors of psychological stress among police personnel in India. In particular, we are interested in the role that emotional intelligence (EI) might play in moderating the relationship between the determinants of psychological stress, that is potential police stressors, and the subjective experience of stress itself.

A popular Indian proverb says work is worship. However, today work is more often than not seen as a source of stress rather than spiritual fulfilment. Excessive demands, lack of control and unrealistic expectations at work have made the lives of many employees unmanageable. This in turn presents some risks to employee mental health such as stress, burnout and depression. As discussed by the authors of Chapter 2 of this book, stress has been conceived in several ways, however, contemporary definitions recognise stress as a personal experience caused by pressures or demands on an individual which impact on their ability to cope (Blaug et al., 2007). In line with Chapter 2, there is a well-established body of research that has looked at the impact of stress at work on the health of the workforce. However, these studies tend to look at the workforce as a whole rather than at specific occupations. Yet every line of work comes with its own stressors and job demands which raise their own problems. Therefore, if we are to advance our understanding of the mechanisms that cause stress and that, in turn, lead from stress to poor health it is important that we begin to look more closely at individual occupations. This chapter aims to do just that by looking at the role that EI might play in moderating the impact of stress among police officers in India. The police are an obvious choice for this type of research as it is widely acknowledged that they have one of the most stressful occupations in the world (Anshel, 2000). With reference to the previous chapter, stress-related studies on the armed forces and the police are clearly needed in India. Being a police officer demands constant attention and alertness to maintain law and order in society. Alongside the usual occupational demands, the job comes with the responsibility of ensuring a safe and civilised society.