The Harder You Work, the Higher Your Satisfaction With Life? The Influence of Police Work Engagement on Life Satisfaction: A Moderated Mediation Model

Abstract

Background: Life satisfaction is a key component of quality of life; it is associated with many factors, including occupational and family life. The results of existing studies examining associations among work engagement, work-family conflict, and life satisfaction have been inconsistent. Objective: We explored the mechanism of action of police work engagement on life satisfaction, and analyzed the relationships among work engagement, work-family conflict, psychological detachment, and police life satisfaction from the angle of family and work relationships. Methods: A total of 760 police officers completed the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Work-Family Conflict Scale, and Psychological Detachment Scale; 714 questionnaires were valid. Results: Work engagement both directly affected police life satisfaction (β = 0.58, p < 0.001), and indirectly influenced police life satisfaction through work-family conflict (β = -0.07, p < 0.05). Different levels of psychological detachment moderated both the relationship between work engagement and work-family conflict (β = 0.17, p < 0.001), and the relationship between work-family conflict and life satisfaction (β = 0.07, p < 0.05). Conclusion: A moderated mediation model was established. Work-family conflict partially mediates the relationship between work engagement and police life satisfaction. Psychological detachment moderates the first and second half of the mediating process by which work engagement affects police life satisfaction through work-family conflict.

The Influence of Job and Individual Resources on Work Engagement Among Chinese Police Officers: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…As the result of evaluating the ultimate value of work, job satisfaction can be seen as a scale for measuring the significance of one's own work. Against the background of Chinese culture, police officers, who practice a profession with high social status, have a high sense of selfidentity invested in their profession and consider the social significance of their profession very high (Liu et al, 2019). When the external resources of police officers (such as the support provided by the organization) are sufficient, their socioemotional needs are met, and they are likely to report more positive job attitudes, including job satisfaction.…”

“…Additionally, Chinese police have a heavy workload and strict work regulations. They often work under stressful conditions, and it is common for them to work overtime to deal with emergencies, which, in turn, increases psychological pressure and leads to physical and mental exhaustion (Liu et al, 2019). The work engagement of police officers is related to social stability and security, as well as to the orderly operation of the political-economic environment.…”

Work-Family Conflict Impact on Psychological Safety and Psychological Well-Being: A Job Performance Model

“…Work overload and stressful events caused by the work environment (Cartwright and Pappas, 2008;Ganster and Perrewé, 2011) may physically and emotionally exhaust an employee in a way that it gives rise to work-family conflict (Frone et al, 1997b;Baeriswyl et al, 2016). The two-way model of workfamily conflict shows that stress factors in the workplace such as lack of autonomy or excessive workload have a negative impact on the "work" side, whereas stress factors related to family such as misbehaving children or overly dependent parents harm the "family" side of the balance (Liu et al, 2019). In other respects, excellent compatibility between family and work gives a sense of high achievement in the workplace since it motivates individuals (Baeriswyl et al, 2016).…”

What if Employees Brought Their Life to Work? The Relation of Life Satisfaction and Work Engagement

“…Employees more satisfied with their general life will also show higher levels of engagement with their own work. Contrary to some previous literature, work engagement and life satisfaction can present a different relation [31,32,66]. Nevertheless, there is recent evidence [32,67] that life satisfaction may function as an antecedent of work engagement.…”