Personality, mental health, and self-reported stress: implications for absenteeism in the New Zealand Police

Abstract

The current study explores the relationship between the big five personality domains, mental health, job stress, and absenteeism among newly graduated officers in the New Zealand Police. Data was collected on an initial cohort of recruits (n=446) over a period of 30 months, from the time of entry into basic police training to a period after two years on the job. Conscientiousness was related to the frequency of sick leave, raising implications for a broader look at the Conscientiousness - job performance relationship dominant in the literature. Agreeableness was the personality factor most commonly correlated with police stressors, followed by Neuroticism. Consistent with the literature, job stress and mental health were found to be related to absenteeism, particularly the frequency with which officers took sick leave. Use of multiple regression analysis demonstrated the benefit of narrow versus broad independent variables for prediction, and a differential relationship between the predictors and absenteeism. Gender and organisational change were the significant predictors of frequency of absenteeism, whilst gender and depression were the significant predictors for volume. Application of the findings to the police socialisation and adjustment literature, police absenteeism and wellness, personality, and productivity are discussed.