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.