Examining Police Officer Work Stress Using the Job Demands

Abstract

Policing has long been recognized as a stressful, emotionally trying, and sometimes dangerous occupation. Job stress is related to several harmful outcomes for officers, and ultimately police organizations. The present study empirically examined the applicability of the job demands–resources model to explain levels of work stress experienced by a sample of police officers in India. Survey data collected from 827 officers in the Indian state of Haryana were examined to determine the impact of five job demands and four job resources on work stress. Our findings suggest that role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload are associated with higher levels of officer stress, whereas organizational support, formalization, and employee input in decision making are all associated with lower levels of stress. The implications of our findings for policing and the job demands–resources model are also discussed.

Keywords

police law enforcement work stress job stress job demands–resources model India

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Examining Police Officer Work Stress Using the Job Demands–Resources Model

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