?:abstract
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Sudden, unbelievable and random crises, known as \'black swans\', have caused long-term changes in the work performance in many organizations The Police also had to face such changes during the COVID-19 pandemic As an organization providing security services with a special role to play, their tasks concern the protection of human life and health This requires a high level of engagement from the police officers, which in the time of a long-lasting crisis may vary The aim of the following study was to compare the level of engagement in the work of policemen, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, in its three dimensions suggested by Schaufeli, i e vigor, dedication and work absorption It was assumed that during the pandemic, the most noticeable changes in their engagement occurred in terms of \'dedication to work\' and consisted, among others, in a growing belief in the significance and importance of the performed work This hypothesis was verified during the research, which was quantitative and covered 184 respondents The research tool was a survey that provided knowledge about police engagement before and during the pandemic The analysis of the survey results shows that although the engagement of the respondents slightly decreased during the pandemic, it was maintained at above the average scale used in the questionnaire In terms of the detailed aspect of engagement, the most visible decrease was recorded in being proud of the work performed, which may be caused by the police experiencing \'hate\', during the pandemic Although the tasks performed were new to the police officers, they were conducted with high intensity and repeatability, and it was therefore hard to perceive them as challenges These aspects, together with psychological factors such as feeling stress in a pandemic situation, may have influenced the lability of police officers
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