Turnover Intentions of Police Officers when Facing Discretionary Ethical Dilemmas: The Explanatory Roles of Professional Disillusionment and Job Stress

Abstract

The present research investigates the impact of discretionary ethical dilemmas encountered by police officers in the workplace on their intentions to leave the profession. Doing so, it distinguishes three types of discretionary ethical dilemmas faced by police officers (professional, individual, and conflicting ethical dilemmas). Findings suggest that two out of the three types of dilemmas, namely professional and individual dilemmas, increase police officers’ turnover intentions. In addition, the study shows that the effect on turnover intentions is mediated by an increase in professional disillusionment and job stress, with professional disillusionment playing a stronger role. This emphasizes the importance of exploring professional disillusionment in understanding police turnover. We discuss the implications of our findings at two levels, that of ethical dilemma prevention and that of the measures that should be taken to help police officer face the inevitable discretionary ethical dilemmas they will encounter on the field.

Keywords

ethical dilemmas turnover intentions professional disillusionment job stress police officers

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