Job Resources in the Police: Main and Interaction Effects of Social and Organizational Resources

Abstract

The Job Demands-Resources model postulates job resources to directly promote employees’ mental health and to interact with job demands. Recent meta-analyses revealed differential effects of social and organizational resources. Studies of job resources in police officers predominantly included social resources and have rarely examined differential effects, interaction effects, and both negative and positive mental health outcomes. The present study provides a comprehensive test of job resources for the mental health of police officers: Main and interaction effects of social and organizational resources were tested on burnout symptoms and job satisfaction. Survey data were collected from 493 German police officers. Social (support, sense of community, leadership quality) and organizational resources (influence at work, possibilities for development, meaning of work), demands (quantitative, emotional, work privacy conflicts), burnout symptoms, and job satisfaction were assessed with an online questionnaire. Stepwise regression analyses and moderator analyses (PROCESS) were performed. Job resources contributed to the prediction of burnout symptoms and job satisfaction beyond job demands. Organizational resources explained substantial variance beyond social resources. Sense of community and possibilities for development were the most influential resources, and work privacy conflicts were the most influential demand. In addition, work privacy conflicts strengthened the association between sense of community and job satisfaction. The study confirms that social as well as organizational resources are protective for police officers’ mental health. Sense of community and possibilities for development emerged as promising starting points for measures to prevent burnout and promote job satisfaction.