Reference no: EM133380247

Case: south eastern region of the State. In her 5 years of service with the QPS she has quickly achieved the rank of senior constable, has a strong sense of satisfaction from her work, and aspires to become a detective in the criminal investigation branch. Like all police officers, she has experienced her fair share of stressful and dangerous situations and exposure to critical incidents during her career. However, with support from her extended social support networks, she has been able to effectively manage these difficulties. Throughout most of her career, Joanne has maintained a supportive social network of friends, both within and external to the QPS, and has been able to balance her work with other interests and activities, including competing in triathlon events and playing club rugby league.

As Joanne progressed to a more senior role, she started to experience an increasingly heavy workload and longer work hours, which when combined with shift work and the often-unpredictable nature of policing work, limited time and opportunities for her to engage in recreational and social activities. She progressively had less time to train for triathlon events and football and spent less time with friends outside of the QPS. Despite her hard work and dedication to the job, Joanne felt that she was not being offered the same opportunities for progression as her male colleagues, being overlooked for a junior position in the criminal investigation branch. Being highly competitive, Joanne decided the best way to address this issue was to work harder and for longer hours, often volunteering for special duties and overtime.

Eventually, Joanne was doing nothing but work and would often spend her minimal down time at home, feeling exhausted and drinking increasing amounts of alcohol to help her fall asleep. Her only social outlet was going to the pub with work colleagues, where she would drink to intoxication after most shifts. Joanne's colleagues began to notice her undergoing significant weight gain, being easily agitated at work, losing track of administrative tasks and often failing to concentrate during shift hand- overs. On some occasions, it was noted that Joanne would present to work with her uniform disheveled and smelling of alcohol. She no longer felt any joy from her triathlon and football training, resulting in her stopping exercise altogether.

Being increasingly concerned for her wellbeing, one of Joanne's colleagues approached her one night at the pub. Joanne became immediately tearful and confided that she was feeling "burnt out", empty and that she had no hope for progression in her job. Given the lack of progression in her job, Joanne said she had been feeling worthless and that she had begun experiencing thoughts of suicide. She told her colleague that she did not feel like she could approach supervisors for assistance because of a fear that she would be removed from operational duties. After chatting for a while, Joanne's colleague convinced her to seek professional support.

Question: If you were the union representative, what recommendations for systemic change would you put forward to police management? Why?