[Sense of personal control and the level of occupational stress and related effects]

There is opinion that the sense of personal control at workplace is an important factor determining the occupational stress and related effects. The group of 160 policemen were studied to verify empirically the above-mentioned opinion. The subjects assessed their level of sense of personal control, occupational stress, burnout and mental health. Statistical analysis revealed following significant correlation coefficients between the sense of personal control and stress (r = -0.33); job satisfaction (r = -0.44); emotional exhaustion (r = -0.28); depersonalization (r = -0.26); and feeling of personal accomplishment (r = -0.25); total score in GHQ-28 (r = -0.16). The results of the study let us draw a practical conclusion. In order to diminish the level of job stress it is required to introduce proper organizational changes enhancing the sense of personal control among workers.