Burn-out syndrome in the Czech police officers

A phenomenon that has been described in the specialist literature for about 40 years, burn-out syndrome was originally thought to be linked primarily with the so-called helping professions, i.e. professions with high levels of emotional strain and long-term stress. However, with the accelerating pace of human life and everincreasing demand for constantly high performance at work, the scope of the professions at risk has widened. Policing is considered to be demanding work, in both mental and physical terms. Therefore, one may assume that the risk of burning out is high. Nonetheless, very few detailed studies exist and in the Czech Republic this area is virtually unexplored. This thesis focuses on the issue of burn-out syndrome in the Czech Police. In the first section the author provides an overview of the theories and definitions of burn-out syndrome, discussing its development, signs, related phenomena, possible causes, methods of research and prevention. A special section is devoted to the specific characteristics of policing, police culture, strain factors and their negative effects, the impact of stress and ways to prevent burn-out syndrome in policing. The practical part of the thesis contains a description of the author's own research into the prevalence of burn-out syndrome in the police forces of..