Gendered group conflict effects on prosecutors’ psychological well-being: A brief study

Abstract

We explored gendered group conflict effects on forms of occupational stress and psychological well-being of prosecutors in Botswana. A convenience sample of 92 prosecutors (female = 52%; married = 35.9%; mean years of service = 6.38 years, SD = 3.84 years) responded to the Psychological Well-being Scale and Group Conflict sub-scales of the Generic Job Stress Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that male prosecutors experience high occupational stress from intra-group conflict. Women’s nature of emotional responsiveness predisposed them to intra-group conflict effects more than their male counterparts. Human resources managers should consider the impact of intra-group conflict on women when developing occupational well-being intervention programmes for prosecutors.

Keywords:

• Botswana
• group conflict
• prosecutors
• psychological well-being

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the North-West University for the financial support provided for this study. Sincere thanks go to the Department of Public Prosecutors for allowing the researchers to conduct the study within the Department.

Author notes

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. Contributions by authors: W.F. Tsabedze prepared the manuscript; P. Erasmus, R.G. Pila-Nemutandani and A.A. Akanni reviewed and finalised the manuscript. Funding information: The researchers received no specific grant for the study. The views and research procedures detailed and expressed in this article remain those of the authors and are not an official position of the institution or funder.