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Can Improving Officer Resilience Increase Retention?

Joshua Bitsko

Resilience isn’t just the new trending term in policing, it is a necessary quality for a police officer to be able to do their job while maintaining their mental health.

 

Law enforcement can be both mentally and physically draining.  High stress critical incidents and repeated trauma take their toll on an individual officer. 


Resilience, or the ability to bounce back and perform effectively after a traumatic incident, can be a key factor in employee retention.   Officers with well developed resilience have higher job satisfaction, mental well-being, and higher retention. 


But what is the connection between resilience and retention, and how can police departments take advantage of this correlation?  First we must understand why officers are leaving the career in record numbers. 


  • Burnout- Burnout is the leading cause of turnover in policing.  You can read more about it here.  Officers work long hours under stressful conditions, which leads to physical fatigue as well as mental exhaustion. 

  • Trauma- Cumulative trauma is a real threat to the mental health of police officers.  Repeated exposure to violence, death, and horror slowly chips away at the walls officers have built up to protect themselves. 

  • Organizational Stress- When an organization puts more pressure on their employees to produce more while providing less resources, it can push officers to retire early or resign.  I authored a blog post on organizational betrayal here.


Knowing why officers leave, police departments must now work to build the resilience of their employees.  There are several strategies that can be utilized to increase employee resilience which will ultimately increase retention. 


  • Resilience Training Programs- Police departments invest thousands of dollars into critical incident training but often fail to train resilience.  Resilience will help officers perform at a higher level under stress as well as reduce the impact of the stressors listed above.  It is important to find quality training, as there is a lot of sub-par training in the wellness/resilience fields.  The training must focus on building a more resilient self and providing tools to regulate emotions.

  • Access to Mental Health Resources- Not all agencies can afford to have their own clinicians on staff.  Finding a culturally competent clinician through insurance can be at best difficult, and at worst impossible.  Peer support can act as a liaison between officers and mental health resources and expedite the process.

  • Leadership Support- Providing quality leadership training to supervisors and holding them accountable when they fail to support their people, will show employees that the department cares about them.  This will lessen the organizational stressors on the employee.


Building resilience in your employees will have a positive impact beyond just retention. 


Happier employees adapt to change, are more productive, and have better interactions

with citizens. 


If you are looking to build the resilience of your workforce, contact us and schedule a phone call. 

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