Abstract
M.A.
The effective management of resources is of cardinal importance to ensure the continued existence of an organisation. Within the context of the South African Police Service police officials render a service to their clients on a daily basis, which entails working with people and being in constant contact with people. Their work relates to trauma and problems and involves extensive exposure. As a result of the intense and dynamic nature of the service providers' contact with the community, they expend a lot of energy and suffer emotional exhaustion. Excessive exposure to trauma, a considerable workload regarding dossiers, a poorly functioning judicial system, official red tape in the organisation, frustration at the administrative system and severe staff shortages lead to individual burnout. Burnout in the work environment is a dynamic phenomenon and is assessed as a syndrome. The occupational fatigue syndrome is a distinctly defined reaction which occurs in the human science professions. It is a multidimensional syndrome on account of complex interactions in the work environment. Occupational fatigue is of a progressive nature and manifests itself in various degrees of severity.
Police personnel are furthermore subjected to an ongoing process of transformation as
a result of political and constitutional changes in the country. Continuous adjustment
and constant exposure to trauma and contact with clients lead to exhaustion and
decline in productivity.