Not just a walk in the woods? Exploring the impact of individual characteristics and changing job roles on stress among conservation officers

Ledford, Logan S.; Osborne, Dustin L.; Edwards, Bradley D.; Stickle, Ben

doi:10.1080/15614263.2020.1821682

Cited by 8 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Rangers also often have to sacrifice sleep during night patrols (Global Environment Facility 2020a ; Moreto 2015 ). The overtime demands of the job and the feeling of always being on the job have been linked to high work-related stress levels in rangers (Ledford et al 2021 ). Extended patrol trips are also made more precarious given the lack of equipment, transport, communication devices, and the added challenge of making camp and finding water (International Union for Conservation of Nature 2014b ; Stellar 2017 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the countless risks and dangers involved in being a ranger, as well as the threats to rangers’ families, fellow rangers, local community members, and to the wildlife that rangers seek to protect, it is not surprising that many rangers experience traumatic events throughout their careers (Ledford et al 2021 ; McConnell 2018 ). Despite this, we found only 8 papers that discuss the impact of employment conditions and exposures on the mental health of rangers.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Twenty-three papers discussed the compounding effect of a lack of social support and/or supportive relationships, and the negative impacts of employment precarity on rangers’ well-being. In particular, emphasis was placed on how limited time with friends and family impacted rangers’ well-being (Ledford et al 2021 ; World Wildlife Fund 2016b , d ). The inadequate living conditions for rangers, along with the distance of ranger outposts from schools and public amenities, means that most rangers cannot bring their families to live with them (Moreto 2015 ; Singh et al 2020 ; Thakholi 2021 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rangers may suffer from social alienation, isolation, and work conditions that harm well-being. Many rangers suffer from poor work-life balance and often report that they feel like they are always on the job (Ledford et al 2021 ; Ranger Federation of Asia 2016 ). The remoteness of ranger work means they have limited leisure opportunities and "no respite from the workplace" (Kuiper et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have investigated the impact of individual ranger characteristics, role complexity, role progression, and hazardous work environments on rangers’ safety (Baker et al 2012 ; Eliason 2011 ; Pennaz 2017 ), health (International Labour Organization 2020 ; Krake et al 2003 ), occupational stress (Ledford et al 2021 ; Moreto et al 2015 ), well-being (Singh et al 2021b ), and job satisfaction (Spira et al 2019 ). A growing body of literature has examined or discussed the impact of factors such as employment relations (Moreto et al 2015 ; Poppe 2012 ; Singh et al 2020 ), income level (Kuiper et al 2021 ; Poppe 2012 ; Thakholi 2021 ), workplace rights and protections (Moreto et al 2015 ; Thakholi 2021 ; World Wildlife Fund 2018b , 2019 ) and other employment aspects, including schedule predictability and working hours (Moreto et al 2015 ; Spira et al 2019 ; World Wildlife Fund 2019 ), on rangers’ health and other well-being indicators, thus addressing the well-established links between employment conditions and workers’ health (Jonsson et al 2021 ; Julià et al 2017 ; Lewchuk 2017 ; Matilla-Santander et al 2019 ; Muntaner et al 2010 , 2020 ; Rönnblad et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An international scoping review of rangers’ precarious employment conditions

et al. 2022

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Protecting wildlife and other natural resources requires engaging and empowering local communities, ensuring compliance with rules, and ongoing monitoring and research. At the frontline of these efforts are rangers. Despite their critical role in maintaining the integrity of parks and protected areas, rangers across the world are exposed to precarious employment conditions and hazardous work environments. We conducted an international scoping review to understand which employment and working conditions are examined in the context of the ranger occupation and to assess whether the concept of precarious employment is used in the conservation, criminological, and environmental sustainability literature on rangers. We reviewed publications from Web of Knowledge, Scopus, ProQuest, and Medline, and grey literature for relevant English language articles published between 2000 and 2021. Our findings are based on the analysis of 98 included studies. We found that the most commonly discussed aspect of rangers’ employment and working conditions was the hazardous social and physical work environment, although this was often accompanied by severe income inadequacy, employment insecurity, and a lack of social security, regulatory support, and workplace rights. Such employment and working conditions can cause adverse impacts on rangers’ mental and physical health, well-being, and safety, and are also detrimental to their ability to adequately protect biodiversity. We conclude by outlining the need for sustainable solutions and additional research based on established conceptualizations of the precarious employment concept and other related concepts. Lastly, we suggest that governments should acknowledge the importance of rangers through their recognition as essential workers and provide greater support to improve their employment conditions. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10669-022-09845-3.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

An international scoping review of rangers’ precarious employment conditions

et al. 2022

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The Role of Education on Workplace Outcomes among Juvenile Justice Personnel

Mack

Rhineberger

2022

Journal of Criminal Justice Education

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Conservation officer perceptions of stress associated with traditional policing duties

Ledford

Osborne

Edwards

et al. 2022

Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice

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Though a limited amount of research has focused on conservation officers’ work, few studies have explored the levels of stress that they perceive to be associated with the work. Furthermore, no study has addressed the levels of stress that these officers associate with traditional policing duties. This is problematic since many are now being tasked with these duties in addition to their conservation-specific roles. This study seeks to address this knowledge gap by utilizing data from 346 conservation officers in six US states. It addresses the role that individual characteristics (for example tenure, education, age) and duty frequency play in influencing the levels of stress that officers associate with traditional policing duties. The analyses suggest that officers with higher education levels, those who have longer tenures in the field, and those who more frequently perform traditional policing duties tend to feature higher levels of perceived stress. Conversely, those with prior policing experience (before becoming a conservation officer) appear to be somewhat insulated from the negative impacts of performing traditional duties. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to potential alterations in conservation officer recruitment and training.

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Not just a walk in the woods? Exploring the impact of individual characteristics and changing job roles on stress among conservation officers

Cited by 8 publications

References 49 publications

An international scoping review of rangers’ precarious employment conditions

An international scoping review of rangers’ precarious employment conditions

The Role of Education on Workplace Outcomes among Juvenile Justice Personnel

Conservation officer perceptions of stress associated with traditional policing duties

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