Alicia Ohlsson

Daily hassles, their antecedents and outcomes among professional first responders: A systematic literature review.

Occupational groups such as firefighters, military officers, paramedics and police officers are exposed to a combination of acute, severe and accumulated everyday stress. Drawing on the daily hassles perspective on stress, the aim was to synthesize existing research on daily hassles in professional first responder settings into a theoretical model. A systematic mixed studies review with an integrated design was undertaken. The selection process resulted in 40 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. The selected papers represented two literature reviews, one qualitative study, eight longitudinal studies and 29 cross-sectional studies. Five superior categories emerged in the analysis: Individual antecedent and continuously framing factors, Environmental antecedent and continuously framing factors, Appraisal and coping processes, Daily hassles and Outcome. Suggestions for future research are presented.

Leadership and Moral Stress: Individual Reaction Patterns among First Responders in Acute Situations that Involve Moral Stressors

The aim was to gain a deeper understanding of individual reaction patterns among professional first responders (emergency treatment, military officers, and police officers) during and after acute situations that involve moral stressors in combination with cumulative stress. Swedish and Norwegian informants within these professional groups were interviewed (n=37). Data were analyzed according to a grounded theory approach. A model was developed according to which long-term effects following such stress exposure depends on the character of the continued everyday living. In particular, the frequency and intensity of perceived daily hassles and uplifts is important. Cognitivebehavioral aspects are discussed to prevent and/or reduce negative long-term reactions.

Crisis management at the government offices : a Swedish case study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of crisis management at the Swedish Government office level in an international crisis by using a multiperspective approach, and p ...

The Comprehensive Approach — Doctrinal Overview and Swedish Leadership Implications at the Operative and Tactical Level

This article is built upon a doctrinal and literature review of comprehensive approach (ca) concepts and the larger international actors that currently use them, such as the un, eu and nato. It also focuses on how small actors, such as Sweden, can contribute within this collaborative framework. There is a focus on possible leadership challenges and suggestions of individual characteristics that would be desirable to handle these types of challenges. Examples of leadership challenges from Swedish informants were used to enrich the text from a Swedish perspective.The findings can be summarized with the following:(1)The un, eu and nato differ on how far they have developed ca core conceptual documents and to what levels they have implemented the approach within their international missions.(2)Sweden does not currently have a comprehensive approach of its own but seems to be headed in that direction. Small actors, such as Sweden, can mainly contribute to the larger actors with “plug-in” capabilities.(3)Possible challenges and competencies were identified and compared to the current leadership model used for the Swedish Armed Forces, Developmental Leadership.Our analysis indicates that although the current theoretical model of the Swedish Armed Forces holds up well to several ca factors, it could benefit to incorporate new concepts within the model that were identified as specific to a comprehensive approach context.

Examining the relationship between personality, organizational political skill and perceived team performance in a multinational military staff exercise context

Abstract Military staffs are composed of many smaller teams that are interdependent upon each other for a positive functioning level of the whole staff. Many factors can improve or harm the harmony of the staff. Recently, there has been an increased interest in the soft factors that may affect team performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions, political skill and perceived team performance in a multinational staff training event. The sample included 185 military staff officers (49% response rate). The results indicated that the personality dimension Emotional stability and Political skill had a limited, yet statistically significant, predictive power on team performance. Practical considerations and future research directions are suggested.

Swedish military officers through other nations’ eyes: Experiences related to leadership theory, stereotypes, identity and military contextual history

PurposeGlobalisation of working life means that many organisations are manned by people from different countries. A potentially critical factor is how members from various nations are looked upon b ...

Contextual factors affecting moral stress: a study of military and police officers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify and gain a deeper understanding of environmental, organizational, and group conditions, and leadership-related issues in particular, in severely stre ...