The Impact of Emotional Exhaustion on Turnover Intention: The Case of Women Police Officers

Abstract

This study seeks to explore the impact of Women Police Officers’ Emotional Exhaustion on Turnover Intention, as well as the moderating role of having children in the relationship between Women Police Officers’ Emotional Exhaustion and Turnover Intention. More specifically, it’s intended to understand (1) the effect of Women Police Officers’ Emotional Exhaustion on Turnover Intention; (2) the moderating effect of having children on the relationship between Women Police Officers’ Emotional Exhaustion and Turnover Intention. Regarding data collection procedure, a questionnaire was implemented, exclusively online, through which 154 professional women from the Portuguese Security Forces have agreed to voluntarily participate in the study. The results obtained showed that (1) Women Police Officers’ Emotional Exhaustion is significantly and positively related to Turnover Intention, in other words, the higher Emotional Exhaustion level, the higher their intention to leave the organization where they work; (2) Having Children assumes a moderating role in the relationship between Emotional Exhaustion and Turnover Intention of Women Police Officers, that is, professional women who have children and who experience high levels of Emotional Exhaustion show a significant low levels in their intention to leave the organization when compared with those who do not have children, and therefore show higher Turnover Intention. Thus, this study and its findings may contribute to a better theoretical and empirical understanding of the issue of Emotional Exhaustion in the life and work of women in the Security Forces, namely with children.