Sources of organizational stress and stress management: A study of police officers in Yozgat Police Department

Every era has its own problems; one of the biggest problem of century is the stress. In a globalizing world, it has experienced great and rapid changes in production and service sectors, communication and technology. These changes are forcing states, organizations and individuals to cope with themselves. Stress is an adaptation effort to all kind of changes which cause strain. Whereas the positive stress which isn?t steady and violent creates motivation on individuals, the negative stress causes low performance, depression, exhaustion and even leads to suicide on the individuals. As so stress affects individuals, it also affects productivity, efficiency, competitiveness and success of organizations. The harmful effects of stress are required to be reduced, even if not eradicated. Managers must minimize the negative effects of stress by identifying resources. Many studies revealed that policing is one of the most stressful professions.In the Thesis, by explaining the concept of stress; sources of organizational stress and the sources of Police Organizational stress were concatenated. The examples were taken from some studies those related with our country and other countries police officers? perception of stress. The survey which is completed by 283 police officers working for Yozgat Police Department was subjected to statistical analysis. According to research, it has been detected that level of stress in Yozgat Police is very low and organizational commitment is high. Moreover, the fact that the staff who has a high perception of justice also has a high organizational commitment is specified and that highest risk group among the branches is Riot Police staff is determined.Keywords: Police, Sources of Stress, Organizational Stress, Stress Management