Psychosocial Safety Climate, Psychological Health, Cynicism, and Professional Efficacy in Policing

Abstract

Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) refers to shared perceptions of organisational policies, practices, and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety. We proposed that work unit PSC affects psychological health (psychological distress, emotional exhaustion) and motivation (cynicism, professional efficacy) because of its influence on the way jobs are designed (demands, resources). We framed the study within the PSC extended Job Demands-Resources theory and proposed domain specific hypotheses generated from Demand Induced Strain Compensation theory. In a multilevel study of Australian police constables (n = 409, n = 36 work units) to capture work unit PSC effects we assessed all relationships as between-group effects. We found that PSC at the work unit level negatively related to job demands (emotional) and resources (emotional, cognitive and physical). In line with an emotion based PSC extended health erosion hypothesis, the relationship between PSC and psychological distress and emotional exhaustion was mediated by emotional demands (rather than other demands). In line with a cognitive based extended motivation hypothesis, we found that PSC was negatively related to cynicism via cognitive resources. Unexpected cross-link cross-domain findings were that cognitive resources (rather than emotional resources) mediated the relationship between PSC and psychological health (distress and emotional exhaustion) and physical resources mediated the PSC to emotional exhaustion and cynicism relationships. We found also that PSC directly related to professional efficacy rather than through cognitive resources. There is some support for DISC matching theory across work groups. Fundamentally results are accountable by PSC theory and support the notion of PSC as a preeminent source of work stress and motivational outcomes and a key target for stress prevention and improved productivity.