<p>This study was undertaken to determine the relationship between the emotional intelligence and burnout levels of police constables of the South African Police Service<br /> (SAPS) in the Western Cape. The field work of constables includes situations in which police officers need to make quick decisions involving life and death.</p>

<p>This study was undertaken to determine the relationship between the emotional intelligence and burnout levels of police constables of the South African Police Service<br /> (SAPS) in the Western Cape. The field work of constables includes situations in which police officers need to make quick decisions involving life and death.</p>

Magister Commercii - MCom / This study was undertaken to determine the relationship between the emotional intelligence and burnout levels of police constables of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Western Cape. The field work of constables includes situations in which police officers need to make quick decisions involving life and death. Constables regularly have to deal with and are exposed to dangerous and violent situations (Plani, Bowley & Goosen, 2003). There are certain skills which a police officer needs to demonstrate. These skills include the ability to make decisions promptly and accurately; the ability to favourably interact with the community and to observe, retain and recall detailed information. However, these skills are affected when the police officer experiences feelings of stress and burnout (Goodman, 1990). One factor that might help police officers with these skills is emotional intelligence (Levert, Lucas & Ortlepp, 2000; Mayer & Salovey, 1997). Given the nature of policing, the potential benefit to the SAPS employing a police officer with high emotional intelligence to deal with burnout, would be the desired attribute. A simple random sample of N=108 police constables participated in this study. The Emotional Quotient-Inventory (EQ-i) and the Burnout Measure (BM) were administered. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 15.0. Cronbach reliability estimates for the EQ-i ranged from .87 to .90 and for the BM was .93. Positive and negative relationships were found between emotional intelligence dimensions: self-awareness (r=.-393, p>0.01), self-regulation (r=.-485, p>0.01), motivation (r=.-442, p>0.01), empathy (r=.-394, p>0.01) and social skills (r=.-383, p>0.01), [N=108] and police officers’ total burnout levels. The results indicated that the more self-aware, self-regulated, motivated, empathetic and socially inclined police officers were, the less likely police officers were to experience burnout. The results also indicated that the less self-aware, self-regulated, motivated, empathetic and socially inclined police officers were, they would be more likely to experience burnout. The exploratory factor analysis yielded a two factor structure for the individual on the emotional intelligence dimensions namely, self-awareness and empathy. A single factor was found for the manager consisting of the original five dimensions of the EQ-i. There was a moderate to strong negative correlation between total self-awareness (r=.-206), self-regulation (r=.-263), motivation (r=.-299), empathy (r=.-268) and social skills (r=.-311), [N=108, p>0.01] and police officers’ total burnout levels. This finding suggests that the more police officers viewed their manager to be self-aware, self-regulated, motivated, empathetic and socially inclined, the less likely they were to experience burn-out. The results of the multiple regression analysis show that police officers’ self-regulation appeared to be the only significant reliable predictor of burnout. The findings of this study provide an important contribution to expanding the body of literature and knowledge concerned with the emotionally intelligent constable which influences their burnout levels / South Africa