Track: Work Design, Measurement, Standards and ISO

Abstract

Police officers are first responders, therefore shift work in this sector is imperative in order to ensure 24/7 coverage. The demanding nature of the pressing work schedules may have physiological, psychological, or other mental impacts on the workforce. Hence, it’s necessary to study the association between the shift work and stress, sleep quality, and cognitive performance within the workforce. Data were obtained from 307 participants working in Sharjah Police. In this study, stress was assessed using 22 items from Spielberger Police Stress Survey, respondents indicated the level of perceived stress on a 5-point Likert scale during a three months period. The sleep quality was assessed using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) through a questionnaire that included 12 items, where respondents were required to indicate the hours of their daily sleep during the three months period and rate the extent to which a number of different factors affected their sleep on a 4-point Likert scale. Furthermore, cognitive performance was assessed using 10 items from Cognitive Functioning Self-Assessment Scale (CFSS) Questionnaire, where respondents are required to rate different events’ frequencies on a 5-point Likert scale. Statistical analysis is conducted using SPSS where analysis of variance is utilized. Results showed important correlations between shiftwork and sleep quality, while shiftwork impact on stress, and cognitive performance of the participants is found to be insignificant.