Securing Security Guards: Understanding the Psychological Well-being of Security Personnel in Educational Institutes
Syeda Imarah Fathima, C. J. Bhavana, Pratishtha Bhattacharyya · 2024
Economic globalization is associated with growing precarity in labor markets. Precariousness is a defining condition for a large bulk of informal workers in many developing countries. The economic insecurity and tough work conditions often affect workers’ psychological well-being. We examine the psychological well-being of one such category of informal workers: security guards. The security guards not only suffer from high job instability but also face social stigma and indignity because of the nature of their work. This study looks at the psychological well-being of security guards at educational institutions. To this end, the paper draws on primary fieldwork involving 20 semi-structured interviews from one leading educational institute in the southern Indian metropolitan city of Bengaluru. Based on this qualitative study, we propose practical implications for organizations to consider certain on- and off-the-job training that may help to provide better mental health support to the guards to do their jobs well, with wider relevance for other informal workers across contexts.