Police stress: the role of the psychological contract and perceptions of fairness

Abstract

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by 405387 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The overall purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which breaches in psychological contracts and perceptions of organizational fairness account for variations in job stress experienced by operational police officers (as measured by psychological distress and employee performance), after controlling for the variance associated with more established job stressors (i.e. job demands, job control and social support). Design/methodology/approach -This study is based on data collected through a self-report survey involving operational members of a large Australian police force (n ¼ 582). Findings -Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicate that vast majority of explained variance in psychological distress and extra-role performance is attributed to the additive effects of demand, control, and support. Furthermore, only one of the social exchange dimensions (interpersonal fairness) is predictive of either target variable.Research limitations/implications -The limitations that need to be taken into account are the cross-sectional nature of the study design and the focus on a single police service. Practical implications -Despite the generally weak support for the social exchange variables, there are signs that dimensions of justice (particularly interpersonal justice) should be included in future police-stress investigations. The results also suggest that job characteristics such as job demand, job control and social support should be taken into account when developing strategies to prevent and/or reduce chronic job stress in policing services. Originality/value -This is one of the first studies to examine the relationships between psychological contract breach, perceptions of fairness and police stress.

Correlates of hopelessness in the high suicide risk police occupation

“…Sargent and Terry (2000) found that high levels of supervisory support protected against the effects of high strain jobs and led to reduced levels of depersonalization. Noblet, Rodwell, and Allisey (2009) found that lack of organizational justice in treatment of officers, a factor in support, contributed to stress. Favorable or unfavorable impressions of supervisors by their subordinates reflect the organization’s level of support (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002; Talarico & Swanson, 1983).…”

An Interview Study of the Experiences of Police Officers in Regard to Psychological Contract and Wellbeing

“…A key construct that has been discussed in the literature in the context of employee and employer relationships and work stressors is 'psychological contract' (PC) (Noblet et al 2009;Stansfeld and Candy 2006). This construct is based on the assumptions of social exchange and refers to 'an individual belief shaped by the organisation, regarding terms of an exchange agreement between individuals and their organisation' (Rousseau 1989, p.123).…”

“…Despite there being an extensive literature on the importance of psychological contract with employees and employers from the commercial, educational and retail sectors, few studies have examined this construct with police officers (Castaing 2006;Chen and Kao 2012;Dick 2006;Gaston and Alexander 2001;Noblet et al 2009;Rodwell et al 2011). Atkinson, Barrow and Connors (Atkinson et al 2003) investigated psychological contract within the police force and models of career advancement.…”

An Interview Study of the Experiences of Firefighters in Regard to Psychological Contract and Stressors

“…PC therefore covers a range of issues like trust, fairness, promotion, training, development and decision making (Conway and Briner 2005;Turnley and Feldman 2000). Studies of work-related stress have argued that breaches and violations of PC can make a significant contribution to the stress experienced by employees (Noblet et al 2009). PC fulfilment has been found to predict job and life satisfaction (De Cuyper et al 2011), resistance to change (Van de Heuvel and Schalk 2009); and the level of trust and fairness between employees and employers ( Van der Vaart et al 2015;Van der Vaart et al 2013).…”