Police Stressors, Job Satisfaction, Burnout, and Turnover Intention Among South Korean Police Officers

Abstract

There have been a number of studies of the effect of stress on police turnover indicating that stress encourages resignation. Unfortunately, stress can be an unavoidable aspect of policing and simply identifying the relationship does not help us avoid turnover. This study not only examines the association between various job stressors and turnover but also assesses whether the relationship is mediated by job satisfaction and burnout. If these factors reduce the effects of stress on turnover, then police administrators can work to influence these mediators and thereby reduce the negative effects of stress. Building on the previous literature on employee turnover, we explored the associations of stressors, job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intent using survey data from South Korean line officers. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses and structural equation modeling were conducted. Among a range of police stressors, work-family conflict emerged as a significant predictor of turnover. Burnout mediated the association between the stressor and turnover intent, while job satisfaction did not. Possible policies were discussed to address the issue of work-family conflict and to reduce burnout and, thereby, turnover among police officers. The current South Korean study produced empirical results that are not exactly identical to the findings from western studies, which suggests the importance of the historical and cultural contexts in police research.