Stress and burnout in Israeli police officers during a Palestinian uprising (Intifada)

This study was conducted during the Palestinian uprising, a highly stressful time for the Israeli police. A representative sample of Israeli police officers (N = 1,010) completed a specially designed questionnaire, and 240 were interviewed. Findings revealed that 36% reported high or very high levels of stress. The officers also showed danger signs of burnout and various symptoms of stress. Nevertheless, their top stressors were not those associated with terrorism, but low salary, unfair treatment by commanding officers, overload, and lack of resources. Furthermore, despite the high stress of their work, the officers evaluated their work highly and expressed satisfaction from it. As revealed in the interviews, these findings can be explained by the officers' belief that their work is important.