An Empirical Assessment of the Sources of Police Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Dissatisfied workers are at risk for negative occupational behaviors such as job turnover, poor performance, work avoidance, decreased morale among coworkers, and physical or legal liability. Relying heavily on demographic (e.g., sex, race, education) and occupational (e.g., rank, experience, assignment) explanatory factors, early empirical studies failed to effectively model the statistical correlates of police officer job satisfaction. Recent inquiries have found more success in explaining the variation in job satisfaction by examining a variety of work-related attitudes. The current study adds to this burgeoning area of research by assessing the role of internal and external dimensions of the work environment, as well as views of fairness and effectiveness, on the job satisfaction of police officers. Based on survey data from a midsized municipal police department in Florida, the multivariate analysis reveals a number of successful predictors of job satisfaction, especially for those officers with a street-level assignment. A second analysis, based on qualitative coding of open-ended survey questions, finds differences in positive and negative features of the occupation across varying levels of satisfied and dissatisfied respondents. Implications of these findings for police practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Elevated police turnover following the summer of George Floyd protests: A synthetic control study

“…We are also unable to point to the exact reasons individual officers chose to resign. As Paoline and Gao (2020) show, there is substantial variation in how satisfied and dissatisfied officers perceive various dimensions of their work. For example, satisfied officers appear to prioritize public perception and respect more than dissatisfied officers, while dissatisfied officers seem more attentive to factors such as pay and benefits.…”

(Un)ethical behaviors of police officers in South Korea: a structural equation analysis

“…However, (un)ethical behaviors can also be explained as related to the prevailing organizational structure and culture in which individual employees work (Crow et al, 2011;Kleinig, 2019;Paoline, 2003). Therefore, the approach to examining ethical behaviors within organizations should include three aspects: (1) individual members who participate in organizational activities (Westmarland, 2014); (2) organizational structure which limits and controls individual behavioral principles and organizational goals (Paoline and Gau, 2020) and (3) work-related relationships/interactions between or among members of organizations (Crow et al, 2011).…”

“…"Ethical qualities of superior officers" in the organization is another set of variables in determining individual-level ethical behaviors as well (Dukerich et al, 1990;Engel and Peterson, 2014;Westmarland, 2014). In addition, ethical behaviors in organizations are related to JS with normative behaviors (Johnson, 2012;Kumar, 2017;Paoline and Gau, 2020).…”

Explaining job satisfaction and voluntary assistance among Nigerian police officers

“…It would be particularly interesting to know whether organizational variables, such as organizational support and work-family conflict, found in Western studies, apply to the African country of Nigeria with a different cultural, political and legal context. Also, most prior studies on job satisfaction found inconsistent results on the effects of officers' demographic and organizational characteristics (Dantzker, 1994;Johnson, 2012), calling for additional research on this critical vein of inquiry (Paoline and Gau, 2020).…”