Psynet
Mental Health in the Workplace Campaign
Long Hours (I)

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Police work is a "greedy" profession, though certainly not the only one. It demands and rewards long hours. It is the rare police officer who works a 40-hour shift. Special assignments, training, preparing for promotion, court appearances, and overtime all extend the working week. An officer's willingness to work extra hours is subtly reinforced by the organisation. Failure to volunteer for overtime assignments may be perceived as not pulling a fair share of the load. Going home, rather than hanging out with the "guys" may make a cop seem distant, unfriendly, and perhaps unreliable to his or her co-workers. This puts pressure on officers who believe they won't get backed up on the street if they aren't well liked and one of the gang.

The officer who asks for time-off for family reasons may be unfairly seen as having domestic problems or difficulties in keeping his or her home life.

For cops, dedication to the job, not the family, seems to be the important consideration, both for belonging and for promotion. This is a trap for cops who are convinced that advancement is the only way to better provide for their families and make them proud. It is also a paradox that officers who work long hours in order to get promoted may be so exhausted and limited in the amount of quality time spent at home, that they are alienating the very people they are working the long hours for. Their families may not appreciate the pay or promotional opportunities associated with special assignments or think these benefits offset the long hours away from home or the increased risk associated with some specialties such as undercover narcotics work.

It is not just the long hours away that can get to you. Police families everywhere complain that even when their cop is home, he or she is thinking about the job or is preoccupied with organisational politics or on-going cases. This absorption in the job, which is usually most intense at the rookie phase, can be a real turn-off to family and friends. It seems as though your cop can't talk about anything else but police work. He or she monopolises conversations, watches every cop show on TV, and provides a running critique on the action to anyone who'll listen. Your interests, your problems, your accomplishments or those of your friends and family, may pale in comparison.

(To be continued in next issue)

Reference

"I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know" by Ellen Kirschman, Ph.D.

(C) Copyright


Amalgamation of Psychological Services Offices in 2004

The Psychological Services Group is re-engineering its services with the aim of maintaining efficiency and quality while economising existing resources. One of the changes is the amalgamation of the Hong Kong and Kowloon offices into the present Hong Kong Office on 5th floor, 111 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, in mid-March 2004. The Kowloon Office on 22nd floor, Ocean Building, 80 Shanghai Street, Yaumati, will cease operation on March 1, 2004. All counseling services provided by Police Clinical Psychologists will then be centralised in the present Hong Kong Office. For any enquiries, please contact the Psychological Services Group at 2866-6206 or 2735-3739.

Seek advice and help from the Psychological Services Group:

PHQ, Hong Kong Island and Marine: 2866-6206 (5/F, 111 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay); Kowloon and the New Territories: 2735-3739 (22/F, Ocean Building, 80 Shanghai Street, Kowloon). PEN: psg@police.gov.hk


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