IMPACT OF WORKLOAD ON THE MENTAL STATE OF THE POLICEMEN IN SPECIAL FORCES

The thesis deals with the workload influence on the mental status of police officers in elite formations. I have focused specifically on the Rapid Deployment Unit and the Unit for the Protection of Constitutional Officials. I have been interested not only in the workload and its effects on the psyche but as well on differences between these two elite formations. Their job may appear to be pretty similar from a layman?s perspective but there are more differences between them than it seems at first glance. The purpose of this thesis is to map the workload influence and psychological burden of these two special units. My next objective is to identify the extent of stress prevention and workload compensation in terms of comprehensive health promotion within the two elite formations. The thesis is divided into two parts. The theoretical part introduces the organization and activities of both departments while defining some basic terms - stress, coping with stress and the consequences of stress such as burnout syndrome or post traumatic syndrome. The empirical part presents the methodology and organization of the research investigation which has been performed by the quantitative method of questionnaire surveys. This part will also offer an evaluation of the data and assumptions arising from the objectives along with my recommendations for practice