Unpacking workplace stress and forensic expert decision-making: From theory to practice

Mohammed A Almazrouei; Jeff Kukucka; Ruth M Morgan; Ifat Levy

doi:10.1016/j.fsisyn.2024.100473

Unpacking workplace stress and forensic expert decision-making: From theory to practice

Forensic Sci Int Synerg. 2024 May 6:8:100473. doi: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2024.100473. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Mohammed A Almazrouei^{1

2}, Jeff Kukucka³, Ruth M Morgan^{4

5}, Ifat Levy^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Neurocognition and Behavior, Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
² Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, Towson University, Towson, MD, USA.
⁴ Centre for the Forensic Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
⁵ Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London, London, UK.

Abstract

Workplace stress can affect forensic experts' job satisfaction and performance, which holds financial and other implications for forensic service providers. Therefore, it is important to understand and manage workplace stress, but that is not simple or straightforward. This paper explores stress as a human factor that influences forensic expert decision-making. First, we identify and highlight three factors that mitigate decisions under stress conditions: nature of decision, individual differences, and context of decision. Second, we situate workplace stress in forensic science within the Challenge-Hindrance Stressor Framework. We argue that stressors in forensic science workplaces can have a positive or a negative impact, depending on the type, level, and context of stress. Developing an understanding of the stressors, their sources, and their possible impact can help forensic service providers and researchers to implement context-specific interventions to manage stress at work and optimize expert performance.

Keywords: Forensic decision-making; Human factors; Human performance; Stress management; Workplace stress.

Publication types

Review