Work family Conflict as a Predictor of Turnover Intent in Male and Female Police Officers

Abstract

Whilst job satisfaction and organisational commitment are consistently linked to turnover cognitions, the difficulties employees have balancing work and family lives is increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to turnover intention (Haar, 2004) and may be particularly problematic for employees in high demand occupations such as policing. This study examines whether work family conflict (WFC) makes an independent contribution to turnover cognitions above job satisfaction and job commitment, and whether gender moderates relations between WFC and turnover cognitions, in police officers. The sample consisted of 1,044 officers (690 males, 351 females) from an Australian police organisation. WFC was conceptualized bi-directionally as Work -family conflict (WIF) and Family-work conflict (FIW). Turnover intent was measured by thoughts of quitting, perceived probability of alternative employment, search for alternative employment, and intention to quit. Women perceived more WIF, and men, more FIW. The hypotheses were tested via moderated regression, and found WFC added to the prediction of turnover cognitions, with FIW being more problematic. Gender moderated the relation between WIF and search for alternatives; the relationship was stronger for females. Difficulties balancing needs of family with work are significant in predicting officer's turnover cognitions.