Assessing the Stress, Job, and Life Satisfaction of Police Leaders

Criminal Justice and Behavior | 2026

Subjective Well-Being: Assessing the Stress, Job, and Life Satisfaction of Police Leaders

David White - Ferris State University

Joseph Schafer - Arizona State University

The purpose of this study is to explore police leaders’ subjective well-being using the concepts of job stress, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction. The study evaluates how stress relates to the leaders’ job satisfaction and, ultimately, to their life satisfaction. Using a cross-sectional survey from 857 police leaders, the study utilizes structural equation modeling to test several hypotheses. The results indicate that role demands, work-family-conflict, and stress exposure tend to reduce life satisfaction, both directly and through job stress and satisfaction. Leaders experiencing factors that contribute to organizational stress and diminish aspects of their well-being experience increased job stress and decreased job satisfaction, both of which reduce life satisfaction. This study provides insights into the subjective well-being of police leaders and underscores the importance of maintaining a healthy, resilient workforce in policing.

police leaders, job stress, satisfaction, well-being, leadership

“Low public support and increased scrutiny have made it challenging for police departments to recruit and retain new officers. Amid this staffing crisis, heightened awareness of police officers’ job stress, satisfaction, and overall well-being has emerged as researchers and practitioners seek to improve workforce resilience and reduce turnover.” (p. 1)

“However, the focus on frontline officers has largely ignored the stress, satisfaction, and well-being of police leaders themselves. A lack of consideration for leaders’ well-being is not unique to policing research; this pattern has been noted in the broader leadership literature. This gap may be due in part to ‘traditional views of leadership [that] see leaders as morally responsible for the well-being of their employees and as enjoying better psychological well-being’. The work and responsibilities of leaders vary from those of front-line personnel.

Leaders engage in administrative and supervisory tasks, and their decisions are more organizational than operational, unlike those made by frontline personnel. Research finds police personnel report organizational factors as equivalent or greater than the operational stressors of their work.” (p. 1-2)

“Drawing on data from a cross-sectional survey of more than 850 police leaders who attended an international leadership training course in 2024,” the study examined different variables related to the “subjective well-being of police supervisors.” They “apply the job demands–resource theory to explore how the specific work stressors of role ambiguity, role overload, role conflict, and work-to-family and family-to-work conflict relate to leaders’ perceived job stress, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction.” They also included a “stress index of the leaders’ exposures to stressful leadership events as an objective measure of job stressors.” (p. 2)

The study found that “more than half of the variance in leaders’ perceived job stress was explained by role overload, role conflict, and the WFC-strain. In addition, perceived job stress, role ambiguity, WFC-strain, and family–work conflict each had consistent negative associations with job and life satisfaction. Significant indirect effects from the subjective stressors acted through job satisfaction (not perceived job stress) to increase the total effects of these predictors on life satisfaction. Although these findings were based on “cross-sectional data, which limits  [their] ability to make causal inferences, they generally support the bottom-up approach to subjective well-being. This approach suggests that job stressors, including work–family/family–work conflict, affect job satisfaction, which, in turn, has reciprocal relationships with life satisfaction.” (p. 11-12)

“For leaders, prosocial motives likely manifest in getting their hands dirty with the work of leadership (i.e., the objective stressors and increased responsibilities), which they may see as challenging and engaging aspects of their job. When the workplace presents challenges, including hands-on stressors and role overload, they may feel more invigorated and engaged in their roles. Therefore, while exposures to stress, role overload, and WFC-time are often framed as negative aspects, some leaders may thrive under challenging and demanding circumstances, regardless of how they intersect with family roles, finding these conditions motivating rather than stressful and dissatisfying” (p. 13)

“The extent to which leaders see their responsibilities spilling over into their off time may not be problematic if their family offers support and perhaps even leans into their role in the leader’s career. To the extent that the leader and family adaptively cope with work-related interference with family time, WFC-time may not be viewed as problematic. Notably, 91% of our sample were married or cohabitating, and consistent with prior subjective well-being research, we found that individuals who were married/cohabitating and those with children reported higher life satisfaction.” (p. 13)

Future research should consider diverse samples and how this may emerge in police leaders with marginalized identities. The researchers mention that “limitations with our sample of police leaders prevent us from exploring intersectional aspects of sex and marriage/children, but future research should more closely address how job demands. Especially, work–family/family–work conflict may differentially relate to these intersections, but more research is needed.” (p. 13-14)

Additionally, the researchers commented on their sample. They stated, “We drew from a convenience sample of leaders attending an extended (10-week) leadership training. Selection into the program is a career marker of success, as graduation from the FBINA is often a preferred job qualification for chief positions and a resumé booster for promotional opportunities. The nature of the sample may affect our outcomes, and although participants were tested on the first day of their experience, the reality of being away from one’s family for 10 weeks may exacerbate issues of work–family/family–work conflict. There is a need to replicate this approach with additional samples and populations. Additional studies of police well-being, particularly leader well-being, are encouraged.” (p. 14)