“Take a Break!”: A Qualitative Study of Shift-Duty Police Officers’ On-The-Job Breaks

AuthorShi Min Toh,Eunae Cho
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/10986111221074907
Published date01 March 2023
Date01 March 2023
Article
Police Quarterly
2023, Vol. 26(1) 111137
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/10986111221074907
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Take a Break!:A
Qualitative Study of
Shift-Duty Police Ofcers
On-The-Job Breaks
Shi Min Toh, MSc
1,2
and Eunae Cho, PhD
1
Abstract
This qualitative study examined on-the-job breaks taken by shift-duty police ofcers.
We explored the nature of on-the-job breaks among ofcers, their perception of these
breaks as helping them to recover and replenish resources, and what factors shaped
their on-the-job breaks. Data were collected from 21 shift-duty police ofcers via semi-
structured interviews. Findings show that on-the-job breaks were categorized into
ofcial and unofcial breaks, each of which had fairly distinctive characteristics. The
timing, activities engaged in during breaks, and subjective experiences during breaks
were thought to determine the effectiveness of on-the-job breaks. Ofcers reported
that the adverse impacts of skipping a break tended to exceed the benets of taking a
break. On-the-job breaks were shaped by various work and non-work factors. As the
rst study delving into on-the-job breaks among shift-duty police ofcers, this study
expands our understanding of specic strategies employed by police ofcers to deal
with ongoing work demands.
Keywords
recovery, rest breaks, job stress, shift work, law enforcement ofcers
1
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
2
Singapore Police Force, Singapore
Corresponding Author:
Eunae Cho, Nanyang Technological University, 48 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639818, Singapore.
Email: Eunae.iopsych@gmail.com
Policing is a highly stressful and demanding job that requires 24/7 presence. Police
forces all over the world face the challenge of keeping their ofcers healthy while
meeting their core mission of maintaining public safety and security (Cartwright &
Roach, 2020;Morash et al., 2008;Violanti et al., 2017). Extensive research on the
occupation of policing has demonstrated the adverse impacts of the work hours (e.g.,
long hours, shift work; Barger et al., 2009;G. D. Bishop et al., 2007;Rajaratnam et al.,
2011;Vila et al., 2002) on police ofcershealth. Furthermore, the demands of shift
work and the resulting health impairments among police ofcers have been shown to
impact their on-the-job safety (e.g., Violanti et al., 2012) and performance (e.g., James
et al., 2018;Waggonner, 2012). Evidence to date demonstrates that promoting health
among police ofcers is critically important not only for individual ofcers but also for
operational effectiveness and efciency.
Despite the far-reaching implications for police ofcershealth, shift work schedules
are inherent to policing. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies are limited in their
ability to reduce work hours or manipulate the work schedules of ofcers in the current
environment of heightened security threats and concurrent resource constraints. These
unique circumstances call for research that identies alternative strategies to mitigate
the impact of shift work demands and facilitate ofcersrecovery from job stress. Such
knowledge is necessary to properly equip ofcers with the physical and mental re-
sources to best meet their job responsibilities.
With these concerns in mind, this study examined the on-the-job breaks taken by
shift-work police ofcers in a Southeast Asian country. Considering various con-
straints, on-the-job breaks are likely a feasible means for police ofcers to achieve
effective recovery from job stress. However, little is known about the nature of on-the-
job breaks among police ofcers, how and if they perceive these breaks as helping their
recovery and resource replenishment, and what organizational and individual char-
acteristics affect their on-the-job breaks. In this study, we adopted a qualitative ap-
proach to obtain an in-depth understanding of these issues from the police ofcers
perspective.
This study advances police research by exploring on-the-job breaks among police
ofcers. While much research has examined various stressors experienced by police
ofcers (e.g., Adams & Mastracci, 2019;Barger et al., 2009;Gershon et al., 2009;
Toch, 2002), how ofcers recover from the stress, particularly during their duties, has
received limited attention. Our research also contributes to the current scientic un-
derstanding of on-the-job recovery among shift workers. Despite the negative health
consequences associated with shift work, shift workers have been understudied,
perhaps because the very nature of their work (i.e., round-the-clock duties) makes it
difcult for them to participate in research (Sonnentag et al., 2017). In terms of practical
value, this study provides a pragmatic understanding of how police ofcers manage
their resources to successfully meet job demands while maintaining health. The impact
of this research is substantial, considering that proper recovery from job stress is shown
to ameliorate the detrimental effects of job stress on long-term as well as short-term
health outcomes (Demerouti et al., 2009;Sonnentag et al., 2017).
112 Police Quarterly 26(1)

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