Factors Impacting Job Satisfaction Among Police Personnel in India

Abstract

Job satisfaction is important for both the employee and organization. Theories of motivation and job satisfaction have been applied in the context of police organizations, providing insight into organizational dynamics. On the basis of multivariate analysis of data collected from 500 police personnel in India, this article attempts to understand the impact of demographic factors, organizational, and job characteristics on job satisfaction. While some findings conform to existing research on job satisfaction in police organizations across the world, the study also arrives at contrasting results, which can be attributed to the unique organizational culture of police in India.

The Influence of Demographic Factors and Work Environment on Job Satisfaction Among Police Personnel: An Empirical Study

“…There have been mixed findings on the impact of education on job satisfaction with some studies reporting a positive impact of education on job satisfaction (Dantzker, 1992; Roberg & Bonn, 2004), and other studies finding no significant impact (Buzawa et al, 1994; Johnson, 2012; Miller et al, 2009; Paoline et al, 2015; Zhao et al, 1999). However, studies conducted in India did not find any impact of education on job satisfaction (Kumar, 2017; Lambert et al, 2015).…”

“…Robie et al (1998) have attributed the impact of rank on job satisfaction to the power distance among the ranks and recommend that the reduction of power distance would reduce the difference in job satisfaction. Research in India has reported mixed findings with Lambert et al (2015) finding no impact of rank on job satisfaction and Kumar (2017) reporting a significant relationship between the variables.…”

“…Employees incorporate organizational membership into their social identity and believe that the organization recognizes and rewards better performance, which has an impact on job satisfaction and improved performance. In their study on police in India, Lambert et al (2017) and Kumar (2017) found a significant impact of organizational support on job satisfaction.…”

“…However, proactive measures have been adopted to protect women at the workplace, especially from sexual harassment. 1 But studies have found no impact of gender on job satisfaction in India (Kumar, 2017; Lambert et al, 2015).…”

An Empirical Assessment of the Sources of Police Job Satisfaction

“…Second, most of the recent research on police officers’ job satisfaction is from outside the United States. For example, studies have been conducted in countries such as India (e.g., Kumar, 2017; Lambert, Qureshi, Frank, Klahm, & Smith, 2018), China (e.g., Chen, 2018), Serbia (Zekavica, Simeunovic-Patic, Potgieter, & Roelofse, 2018), Slovenia (Aristovnik, Seljak, & Tomaževič, 2016; Tomaževič, Seljak, & Aristovnik, 2014, 2019), Turkey (Kula, 2017), and Pakistan (Ahmad & Islam, 2019). These international studies have contributed to the general scholarly understanding of officer job satisfaction, but policing in the United States differs markedly from that in other countries.…”