Most gardaí suffering ‘overwhelming’ fatigue, new study finds

More than half of gardaí suffer “overwhelming” tiredness, lack of energy and exhaustion amid low levels of belief in senior management, a state of the force study has found.

Newly-published research into thousands of officers also shows low levels of wellbeing generally among the ranks as well as a low perception of fairness in the organisation.

The study, carried out by the Policing Research Unit at Durham University, further found significant differences in workplace happiness between Garda officers themselves and civilian staff.

Garda officers were more likely to complain about fairness, support from the force, the effectiveness of senior ranks and general openness to change in the organisation.

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There were also “large” differences between officers and civilians when it comes to so-called “hindrance stressors” such as “administrative difficulties and unnecessary bureaucracy”.

Officers experience moderately high levels of hindrance stressors compared to average levels among civilian staff, the report found. Officers were also more likely to report difficulties in switching off from work, seen as a crucial factor in allowing them to recharge for their duties.

Responding to the findings of the latest Culture Audit — the first was carried out four years ago — Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said it provided “great insights that will further improve the service we provide to the public and enhance the working lives of Garda personnel.”

“This Culture Audit once again highlights many positives,” he said.

“Garda personnel are highly dedicated, believe the work they do helps others, their values are strongly aligned to our code of ethics, and they are proud of An Garda Síochána. “However, it also makes clear that the organisation has more work to do to give our people the support and tools they need to do their jobs efficiently and effectively, to ensure people feel they are treated fairly, and they are being supported in their very challenging and pressurised work.”

‘Emotional energy’

The study was carried out over a four week-period in February. Just over a third (34.6 per cent) of gardaí responded to the audit — 4,810 officers and 1,496 civilian staff — but the researchers said the feedback was “more than adequate” to “allow confidence in the findings.” A follow-up survey at the end of March received a smaller response of 26.7 per cent.

The study tested “emotional energy” — a measure of an individual’s overall wellbeing — and found “moderately low” levels among officers compared to “average” levels among civilians working for the force. The difference between the two groups was deemed “large”.

Low levels of emotional energy “are manifested by both physical fatigue and a sense of feeling ‘drained’ at work,” the report said.

Some 51.2 per cent of officers said they felt “high levels of fatigue” compared to 43.6 per cent of civilian staff. Fatigue, the report states, “can be thought of as an overwhelming sense of being tired, lacking energy and feeling exhausted.”

Research has shown that fatigue “is associated with a reduced capability to cope with work demands and stress, increased absence, reduction in communication skills and decision-making ability, and increased likelihood of receiving complaints from the public.”

Hostility

The report authors said it was “of concern” that 16.5 per cent of officers (and 13.3 per cent of civilian staff) indicated “very high levels of fatigue.”

Asked how effective they thought senior Garda management to be, the response was “moderately low” among officers and “moderately high” among civilian staff.

However, both groups reported high levels of support and very low levels of hostility from their immediate line manager.

When it came to fairness in the workplace, Garda officers signalled “moderately low” levels, compared to “moderate” levels among civilian staff.

Asked about how the force valued them and cared about their wellbeing, Garda officers reported “low” levels compared to “moderate” levels among civilian staff.

Again the differences between the groups was characterised as “large”.

While there was high levels of belief in an openness to organisational change among civilian staff, Garda officers reported just moderate levels.

“The findings indicated that when individuals believe their organisation cares about their wellbeing, values their contributions, and will support them when facing difficult circumstances, they are more likely to have higher levels of openness to organisational change and lower levels of intention to quit,” the report found.

Pride in the force was moderately high, but higher among civilian staff.

Mr Harris said management would analyse the findings “in-depth and conduct focus groups to gain further insights on particular areas” and “introduce measures to address the issues raised”.

Change

The report’s lead author Prof Les Graham, Durham University, who has carried out similar audits of dozens of forces in England, Scotland and Wales, said his findings show gardaí are less fatigued than officers in England and Wales, generally, but more fatigued than Police Scotland.

“I think we would all know England and Wales has suffered harder through austerity than perhaps Police Scotland and An Garda Síochána,” he said.

“And while on average, the guards are less fatigued than police officers in England and Wales, not being as bad as somebody in trouble is not a good place to be. Policing in England and Wales is under significant strain at the moment.”

On the marked differences in workplace happiness between gardaí and Garda civilian staff, Prof Graham said the trend is “consistent” with what he has analysed in other police forces.

“Both have meaningful work, but being honest about it, the job of a guard is a tougher job, being exposed to quite difficult circumstances and people, people in a pretty bad place. That takes its toll on officers, and also the impact of shift working.”

Prof Graham said the Garda was going through “a lot of change at the moment” which could account for some of the low levels of confidence in senior management as “people don’t like change”.

Perceptions in senior management have improved “slightly” since the first audit.

“Also, it is a large organisation, and perceptions of senior leaders are often lower in larger organisations, where there is probably less contact, than in smaller ones,” he said.

“Perceptions of management also decline quite dramatically with a respondent’s tenure — there are lower scores for people who have served more than five years.”

Policing Authority chief executive Helen Hall said she hoped the findings “will provide a valuable baseline for the Garda Síochána as it continues to enhance its culture”.