📄 Abstract
Operating under a strict zero-failure mandate, personnel of the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) face unique workplace pressures that impact their professional effectiveness and personal well-being. Guided by the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and the Work-Home Resources perspective, this phenomenological study explored the lived experiences, coping mechanisms, and operational challenges of close protection officers. Data were gathered through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 12 PSPG officers and analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step qualitative framework with member-checking verification. Findings revealed that high job demands manifest as unpredictable deployments, 12-to-18-hour shifts, and equipment shortages, initiating a health-impairment process marked by chronic fatigue and medical vulnerability. Rigid hierarchies and leadership deficiencies generate role confusion and fractured trust, while operational exhaustion spills over into domestic life, causing severe work-to-family conflict. To navigate these stressors, officers deploy emotional resources (spiritual faith, family support, peer camaraderie) and cognitive coping strategies (compartmentalization, radical acceptance, strict adherence to orders). Despite structural hardships, personnel protect career satisfaction by framing adversity as performance benchmarks and anchoring their purpose in pride for their sworn oath. Evidence-based institutional wellness programs and resource-aligned policies are proposed.
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📚 How to Cite:
Adelfa Capacio Formento, Dr. Donald B. Narra , BEHIND THE SHIELDS: EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCES OF STRESS AND OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES AMONG PERSONNEL OF THE POLICE SECURITY PROTECTION GROUP , Volume 12 , Issue 9, September 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 632 - 638 ,