Local Law Officers/Animal Management Officers are routinely subjected to high levels of stress by the nature of their work. Such stress can lead to short-term and long-term difficulties within the Units operation, like higher staff turnover, extended sick leave, low morale, and burnout. Being aware of Occupational Health and Safety issues, a pro active strategy was undertaken to investigate the causes of stress within a Regulatory environment to design and implement initiatives to counteract them.
This study involved interviewing all employees of the respective unit to ascertain the extent and causes of stress. The benefits of collecting data via interviews rather than relying upon assessment questionnaires are discussed. This subjective data was sorted into themes. Nine themes and causes of stress were identified and strategies were designed to address these. So far four strategies have been implemented in the areas of communication, debriefing, professional development, and recruitment. The progress of implementing these strategies and their effectiveness is discussed.