Burnout Among Norwegian Police Officers:

Potential Antecedents and Consequences

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Ronald J. Burke
York University
Aslaug Mikkelsen
Stavanger University College

This investigation examined potential antecedents and consequences of burnout in a large sample of Norwegian police officers. Data were collected via
anonymously completed questionnaires. Three burnout components considered were emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and low professional efficacy.
Work demands emerged in hierarchical regression analyses as the strongest
predictor of each burnout component. With the burnout components as
predictors, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that burnout components had significant relationships with a variety of outcomes (work, work
family, psychological health, physical health). Work demands, however, had
a stronger relationship with both work and workfamily outcomes than did
the burnout components, the latter having the strongest relationship with
indicators of psychological health. Emotional exhaustion had significant and
independent relationships with most of the outcome measures.
Keywords: burnout, stress, well-being, police officers

Police work is generally viewed as a stressful, demanding occupation

exposing officers to potentially violent and threatening situations (Kroes,
1988; Toch, 2002; Violanti & Paton, 1999). As a reflection of this view,
hundreds of studies have been conducted on work stressors in policing (see
Abdollahi, 2002, for a partial review).
Ronald J. Burke, Department of Organizational Behavior, Schulich School of Business,
York University; Aslaug Mikkelsen, Department of Social Science, Stavanger University
College, Stavanger, Norway.
Preparation of this article was supported in part by the Rogaland Institute, Stavanger,
Norway; and the School of Business, York University. We acknowledge the support of the
police union in conducting the study and collecting the data. Lisa Fiksenbaum assisted with data
analysis.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ronald J. Burke, Department of Organizational Behavior, Schulich School of Business, York University, 4700 Keele
Street, North York ONT M3J 1P3, Canada. E-mail: ronald burke@users.ssb.york.ca
64
International Journal of Stress Management
2006, Vol. 13, No. 1, 64 83

Copyright 2006 by the American Psychological Association

1072-5245/06/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1072-5245.13.1.64

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Burnout in Norwegian Police Officers

65

Police stressors typically have been placed into three categories: personal, occupational, and organizational (Hart, Wearing, & Headey, 1995).
Personal stressors refer to stable aspects of personality (e.g., authoritarianism,
Type A behavior) that may exacerbate the stressor health relationship.
Occupational stressors encompass those demands that are part of the job
itself, such as dealing with victims and perpetrators of crime, interacting with
the justice system, and doing shift work. Organizational stressors encompass
interactions with police leadership, lack of support, bureaucratic red tape, and
lack of career advancement opportunities. There is evidence among police
officers of a link between the experience of workplace stressors and dissatisfaction and negative health outcomes (Adbollahi, 2002). In addition, organizational stressors both are the most common and have the strongest
association with dissatisfaction and psychological distress.
A related and large body of research on work and health has focused on
the concept of burnout (Shirom, 1989, 2002). It is somewhat surprising that
burnout research rarely has been conducted with police samples (Schaufeli &
Enzmann, 1998). A review of this body of work shows findings consistent
with those reported in nonpolice samples and extends this work to new areas
reflecting the unique aspects of policing (Alexander, 1999; Golembiewski,
Sun, Lin, & Boudreau, 1995; Goodman, 1990; Jackson & Maslach, 1982;
Maslach & Jackson, 1981).
Police officers represent an interesting occupation in which to examine
burnout, as they have been found to report higher levels of cynicism and
reduced personal accomplishment than do members of other occupations
(Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). High levels of cynicism may reflect police
officers occupational socialization coupled with the nature of their job and
role in society. In addition, police officers score lower on exhaustion than do
members of other occupations. Policing is also an occupation that provides
few successes, little positive feedback, difficult and upsetting interpersonal
contact with members of the general public, considerable red tape and
bureaucracy, unmet expectations, the need to manage ones emotions, and
authoritarian or paramilitary supervision (Kroes, 1988; Toch, 2002).
Burnout is typically seen as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, cynicism,
and reduced personal efficacy (Maslach, 1982; Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter,
2001). Burnout refers to a process in which the individuals attitudes and
behaviors change in negative ways in response to job stressors. It is a process of
progressive disillusionmenta loss of energy, idealism, and enthusiasm (Leiter
& Maslach, 1998; Schaufeli, Maslach, & Marek, 1993). The Exhaustion Scale
measures the depletion of emotional energy. Cynicism reflects indifference or a
distant attitude toward ones work and professional efficacy and includes both
social and nonsocial aspects of accomplishments at work. In addition, work
setting and organizational conditions have been found to be more significant

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Burke and Mikkelsen

predictors of burnout than personal demographic and personality factors (Burke

& Richardsen, 2001; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998).
Although a comprehensive theoretical framework for burnout has not yet been
developed, the organizational context has been identified as a key factor. That is, an
unfavorable work environment leads to stress and, depending on the effectiveness of
coping approaches, culminates in burnout and reduced accomplishment.
Kop and Euwema (2001) found a positive relationship between levels of
burnout of Dutch police officers and a positive attitude toward the use of
force, self-reported use of force, and the independently observed use of force.
Why should burnout be related to positive attitudes toward the use of force?
First, the threshold for exhibiting violent behavior toward the public is
lowered when officers view the public as impersonal objects instead of
people. Second, when officers are exhausted, they more likely feel incompetent and engage in poor problem solving; also, they may be less likely to
use social skills and more likely to use force. Kop, Euwema, and Schaufeli
(1999), using the same sample, reported that burnout was associated with a
lack of reciprocity between investments and outcomes in the relations that
officers had with the public, work colleagues, and their organization.
In a large sample of Canadian police officers, Burke (1988) reported that
workfamily conflict was associated with levels of burnout. Additionally
associated with burnout were antecedents such as work setting characteristics, lack of social support, both work and nonwork stressors, and outcomes,
including psychosomatic symptoms, negative feeling states, intention to quit,
and self-reported physical health.
By contrast, Schaufeli and Buunk (2003) reported that police officers in
the Netherlands had relatively low levels of clinical burnout (about 1%)
compared with people in other occupations. This low level likely reflects the
fact that in the Netherlands police officers are screened psychologically, with
individuals scoring high on neuroticism excluded. Police officers score low
on exhaustion, high on depersonalization (cynicism), and low on personal
accomplishment (see Kop & Euwema, 2001).
Continuing this line of research on burnout among police officers, the
present study has two research objectives and one practical objective. The
first objective is to empirically determine predictors of the three burnout
components among police officers in Norway, the second is to ascertain the
role burnout plays in predicting a variety of work and psychological health
outcomes in this population, and the third, given the findings that emerge, is
to offer practical interventions for police management interested in building
a healthy organization.
We developed two research models to guide selection of variables to be
included in the study as well as data analysis (see Figures 1 and 2). In the first
model, an examination of potential predictors of burnout components, four
blocks of predictors were included: personal demographics (e.g., age, gender,

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Burnout in Norwegian Police Officers

67

Figure 1. Predictors of burnout components.

marital and parental status), work situation characteristics (e.g., size of force,
level of position), job demands (e.g., cognitive, emotional), and coping and
social resources (e.g., social support). In the second model, an examination of
the effects of burnout on work and health outcomes, the burnout components
were added as a fifth block of predictors following the four blocks discussed
in regard to Figure 1. The relationship of these blocks of predictors with work
outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction) and health outcomes (e.g., psychosomatic
symptoms) was then determined. Previous research has found that burnout
was predictive of these consequences (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998).

METHOD
Respondents

Table 1 shows the demographic characteristics of the police sample (N

766). Most respondents were male (84%), were married (82%), had children
(88%), held constable positions (62%), worked in urban areas (73%), worked
in large departments (100 or more; 36%), worked between 36 and 39 hr per
week (86%), worked 5 or fewer hours of overtime per week (75%), held

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Burke and Mikkelsen

Figure 2. Burnout, work, and health outcomes.

fairly long police tenure (21 years or more; 39%), and were born in 1960 or
before (42%). The sample was generally representative of the police union
population in Norway.
Procedure

Data were collected from 766 police officers via anonymously completed
questionnaires, for a 62% response rate. Questionnaires were mailed by the
police union and returned to an independent research institute. Some measures were translated from English to Norwegian for this study via the
back-translation method, whereas other measures had already been translated
into Norwegian by others (e.g., the Maslach Burnout InventoryGeneral
Survey; Schaufeli, Leiter, Maslach, & Jackson, 1996).
Measures

Burnout
Three components of burnout were measured by the Maslach Burnout
InventoryGeneral Survey developed by Schaufeli et al. (1996). Exhaustion

Burnout in Norwegian Police Officers

69

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of Sample

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Characteristic
Gender
Male
Female
Year of birth
1950 or earlier
19511960
19611970
1971 and later
Education
13 years or less
1416
17 or more
Location
Rural
Urban
Size of department
119
2049
5099
100 or more
Shift work
Regular
Sometimes
Around the Clock
Marital status
Single
Married
Partner in policing
Yes
No
Parental status
Children
Childless
Organizational level
Manager
Supervisor
Constable
Police tenure
10 years or less
1120
2130
31 years or more
Hours worked
35 or less
3639
40 or more
Overtime hours
05
6 or more

640
125

83.7
16.3

93
214
257
167

12.7
29.3
35.2
22.8

135
464
159

12.8
61.2
11.0

209
557

27.3
72.7

194
168
119
272

25.8
27.3
15.8
36.1

167
266
329

72.0
35.0
43.0

134
631

17.5
82.5

95
663

12.5
87.5

602
147

80.4
19.6

20
252
451

2.8
34.9
62.4

239
220
232
67

32.0
28.8
30.4
8.8

66
628
37

9.0
85.9
5.1

402
164

75.4
24.6

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was measured by five items ( .86). An example item is, I feel emotionally drained from my work. Cynicism was assessed by five items ( .78).
One item is, I have become more cynical about whether my work contributes anything. Professional efficacy was measured by six items ( .80).
A sample item is, At my work, I feel confident that I am effective at getting
things done. Respondents indicated how frequently they experienced each
item on a 7-point frequency scale (0 never, 6 always).

Personal Demographic and Work Situation Characteristics

A number of personal demographic and work situation characteristics
(e.g., age, marital status, organization size, police tenure) were measured by
single items typical of those used by others. Work demands were measured
by scales from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ),
developed by Kristensen and Borg (2001). Many of the work demands
included have been shown to be related to levels of burnout in a variety of
samples (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Quantitative demands were measured
by a seven-item scale ( .83). Respondents indicated their agreement with
each item on a 5-point scale (5 always, 1 never/hardly ever). A sample
item is, Do you have to work very fast? Cognitive demands were assessed
by an eight-item scale ( .79). An example item is, Does your work
require you to make difficult decisions? Emotional demands were measured
by a three-item scale ( .80). An example item is, Does your work put
you in emotionally disturbing situations?
Role clarity was measured by a four-item scale ( .76) anchored by (5)
to a large extent and (1) to a very small extent. One item is, Do you know
exactly which areas are your responsibility? Role conflict was assessed by a
four-item scale ( .71). An example item is, Are contradictory demands
placed on you at work? Information was assessed by a two-item scale (
.79). One item is, Do you receive all the information you need to do your
work well? Leadership quality was measured by an eight-item scale (
.94). A sample item is, To what extent would you say that your immediate
superiors appreciate the staff and show consideration for the individual?

Coping Resources
Two coping resources were considered. Social support was measured by
a four-item scale ( .79) from the COPSOQ (Kristensen & Borg, 2001).
An example item is, How often do you get help and support from your
colleagues? Responses were made on a 5-point scale (5 to a large extent,

Burnout in Norwegian Police Officers

71

1 to a very small extent). Sense of community was measured by three items

( .84) from the COPSOQ. One item is, Do you feel part of a community
at your place of work?

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Work Outcomes
Two work outcomes were included, both from the CQPSOQ, developed
by Kristensen and Borg (2001). Job satisfaction was measured by seven
items ( .75). Respondents indicated how satisfied they were with each
item on a 4-point scale: 4 very satisfied, 1 highly unsatisfied. A sample
item is, How satisfied are you with your usual take home pay? Meaningful
work was assessed by a five-item scale ( .79) from the COPSOQ. One
item is, Do you feel that the work you do is important?

WorkFamily Issues
Two workfamily issues were included on the basis of the work of
Torgen, Stenlund, Ahlberg, and Marklund (2001). Workfamily conflict was
measured by five items ( .83). One item was, My work is having a
negative impact on my family. Spouse concerns were also measured by five
items ( .79). An item was, My spouse/partner worries that my job is
affecting my health.

Psychological Health
Three aspects of psychological health were included. Subjective health
complaints or symptoms were measured by a 29-item scale ( .89)
developed by Eriksen, Ihlebaek, and Ursin (1999). Respondents indicated
how frequently they experienced each complaint or symptom (e.g., headache,
lower back pain) during the past month on a 4-point frequency scale.
Posttraumatic symptoms were measured by a 10-item scale ( .92)
developed by Knudsen et al. (2002). One item was depression. Respondents indicated how frequently they experienced each symptom on a 7-point
scale (1 never, 7 very often).
Suicidal ideation was assessed by a four-item measure ( .84) developed by Paykel, Myers, Lindenthal, and Tanner (1974) and used later by
others (see Tyssen, Vaglum, Gronvold, & Ekeberg, 2001). The items are (a)
Have you ever felt that life was not worth living? (b) Have you ever

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wished you were dead? (c) Have you ever thought of taking your own life
even if you would not really do it? and (d) Have you ever reached the point
where you seriously considered taking your life, or perhaps made plans how
you would go about doing it?

Physical Health
Four aspects of self-reported physical health were included, most measured by single items. Medication use was measured by a five-item scale
( .39). Officers indicated how frequently they had taken each medication
during the past year (e.g., sleeping pills, pain killers) on a 5-point scale. The
reliability of this scale was, by its very nature, expected to be modest.
General health was measured by one item: How is your overall health?
(1 poor, 5 very good). Sick leave was measured by a single item: Have
you taken sick leave during the past 6 months (yes/no). Number of sick days
was also measured by a single item: If yes, how many sick days have you
taken?

RESULTS
Predictors of Burnout Components

Table 2 shows the results of hierarchical regression analyses in which the

relationship of four blocks of predictors with the three burnout components
were examined (see Figure 1). When a block of predictors accounted for a
significant amount or increment in explained variance, variables within such
blocks that had independent and significant relationships (p .05) with a
given criterion measure were identified. 1
The following comments are offered in summary. First, all blocks of
predictors accounted for significant amounts of or increments in explained
variance on levels of emotional exhaustion. Police officers working in urban
settings reported greater exhaustion ( .11). Police officers indicating more
quantitative demands and greater emotional demands reported higher levels
of emotional exhaustion (s .21 and .10, respectively). Finally, police
officers indicating less social support and less sense of community reported
higher levels of exhaustion (s .10 and .08, respectively).
Second, all four blocks of predictors accounted for significant amounts of
or increments in explained variance on levels of cynicism. Police officers
1

A copy of the full intercorrelation matrix can be obtained from Ronald J. Burke.

Burnout in Norwegian Police Officers

73

Table 2. Predictors of Burnout Components

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Burnout Components
Exhaustion (N 632)
Personal demographics
Situational characteristics
Urban/rural (.11)
Work demands
Quantitative (.21)
Emotional (.10)
Resources
Social Relations (.12)
Social Support (.10)
Community (.08)
Cynicism (N 632)
Personal demographics
Situational characteristics
Police tenure (.26)
Department size (.13)
Work demands
Role conflict (.19)
Information (.16)
Quantitative (.10)
Cognitive (.09)
Resources
Social support (.13)
Coping (.07)
Professional Efficacy (N 632)
Personal demographics
Gender (.13)
Situational characteristics
Shift work (.12)
Work demands
Cognitive (.23)
Resources
Social support (.13)
Community (.11)

R2

R2

.14
.20

.02
.04

.02
.02

.05
.05

.53

.28

.24

.001

.56

.32

.04

.001

.13
.26

.02
.07

.02
.05

.05
.001

.54

.29

.22

.001

.56

.31

.02

.01

.15

.02

.02

.05

.22

.05

.03

.01

.36

.13

.08

.001

.40

.16

.03

.001

Note. Standardized betas are shown in parentheses.

who had longer police tenure and those in larger departments reported less
cynicism (s .24 and .13, respectively). Police officers reporting greater
role conflict, less information, more quantitative demands, and fewer cognitive demands reported higher levels of cynicism (s .19, .16, .10, and
.09, respectively). Finally, police officers indicating less social support
reported higher levels of cynicism ( .13).
Third, all four blocks of predictors accounted for significant amounts of
or increments in explained variance on professional efficacy. Men reported
higher levels of professional efficacy than did women ( .13). Police
officers working continuous shift work reported lower efficacy ( .12).
Police officers reporting greater cognitive demands also reported greater
efficacy ( .23). Finally, police officers indicating greater social support

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and those indicating a stronger sense of community reported higher levels of

efficacy (s .13 and .11, respectively).
Work demands accounted for the largest amount of or increment in
explained variance on all three burnout components. In addition, the four
blocks of predictors accounted for relatively large amounts of variance on
both emotional exhaustion and cynicism.

Predictors of Work Outcomes

Table 3 shows the results of hierarchical regression analyses examining

the relationship of four blocks of predictors (see Figure 2) with two work
outcomes: job satisfaction and meaningful work. The following comments
are offered in summary. First, all four blocks of predictors accounted for
significant amounts of or increments in explained variance on job satisfaction. Police officers at higher organizational levels reported more job satisfaction ( .11), as did those working regular day shifts ( .10). Police
officers who had more satisfying leadership indicated greater job satisfaction
( .26), as did those reporting more information ( .17). Finally, police
officers who reported less cynicism also reported more job satisfaction (
.17), as did those who reported greater exhaustion ( .16).
Second, three blocks of predictors accounted for significant increments
Table 3. Burnout and Work Outcomes
Work Outcomes
Job Satisfaction (N 643)
Personal demographics
Situational characteristics
Organizational level (.11)
Shift work (.10)
Work demands
Leadership (.34)
Information (.17)
Burnout
Cynicism (.17)
Exhaustion (.16)
Meaningful Work (N 643)
Personal demographics
Situational characteristics
Work demands
Role clarity (.21)
Cognitive (.17)
Information (.13)
Burnout
Cynicism (.36)
Professional Efficacy (.18)

R2

R2

.13
.30

.02
.09

.02
.07

.05
.001

.69

.47

.38

.001

.73

.53

.06

.001

.08
.24
.58

.01
.06
.34

.01
.05
.28

ns
.001
.001

.70

.49

.15

.001

Note. Standardized betas are shown in parentheses.

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Burnout in Norwegian Police Officers

75

in explained variance on meaningful work (not personal demographics).

Police officers indicating greater role clarity, police officers indicating greater
cognitive demands, and police officers reporting more information also
indicated more meaningful work (s .21, .17, and .13, respectively).
Finally, police officers indicating less cynicism and those indicating more
professional efficacy also reported higher levels of meaningful work (s
.36 and .18, respectively).
Work demands again accounted for the largest amount of or increment in
explained variance on the three work outcomes. Access to information also
had a significant and independent relationship with all three work outcomes.
The four blocks of predictors accounted for a large amount of variance on
both job satisfaction and meaningful work.

Burnout and WorkFamily Issues

Table 4 shows the results of hierarchical regression analyses in which the

two workfamily measures were regressed on the four blocks of predictors.
In both cases, all four blocks of predictors accounted for significant amounts
of or increments in explained variance on workfamily conflict and spouse
concerns.
Table 4. Burnout and Work-Family Issues
Work-family issues
Work-family conflict (N 574)
Personal demographics
Year of birth (.19)
Situational characteristics
Shift work (.09)
Organizational level (.09)
Work demands
Quantitative (.17)
Role conflict (.10)
Burnout
Exhaustion (.32)
Spouse concerns (N 482)
Personal demographics
Police partner (.11)
Situational characteristics
Department size (.12)
Work demands
Cognitive (.12)
Emotional (.12)
Burnout
Exhaustion (.20)
Cynicism (.15)

R2

R2

.17

.03

.03

.01

.23

.05

.02

.01

.57

.33

.30

.001

.64

.41

.08

.001

.16

.03

.03

.05

.25

.06

.03

.01

.53

.28

.22

.001

.59

.35

.07

.001

Note. Standardized betas are shown in parentheses.

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Burke and Mikkelsen

The following comments are offered in summary. Police officers working regular shift work reported more workfamily conflict ( .09), as did
those at higher organizational levels ( .09). Police officers reporting
greater quantitative demands and those reporting more role conflict also
indicated higher levels of workfamily conflict (s .17 and .10, respectively). Finally, police officers indicating higher levels of exhaustion also
reported more workfamily conflict ( .32).
With respect to spouse concerns, police officers who had another officer
as a spouse or partner indicated fewer spouse concerns ( .11). Police
officers working in larger departments indicated fewer spouse concerns (
.12). Police officers indicating greater quantitative demands and those
reporting greater emotional demands indicated higher levels of spouse concerns (s .12, and .11, respectively). Finally, police officers indicating
higher levels of exhaustion and those indicating more cynicism reported
greater spouse concerns (s .20 and .15, respectively).
Work demands again accounted for the largest amount of variance on the
two workfamily measures. Hiding emotions and emotional exhaustion had
significant and independent relationships with both workfamily measures.
The four blocks of predictors also accounted for a large amount of variance
on both criterion measures.
Table 5. Burnout and Psychological Health
Psychological health
Subjective health (N 596)
Personal demographics
Education (.08)
Situational characteristics
Work demands
Cognitive (.14)
Burnout
Exhaustion (.49)
Post traumatic symptoms (N 624)
Personal demographics
Situational characteristics
Work demands
Role conflict (.10)
Burnout
Exhaustion (.46)
Professional Efficacy (.07)
Suicidal ideation (N 642)
Personal demographics
Marital status (.16)
Situational characteristics
Work demands
Burnout
Exhaustion (.20)
Cynicism (.11)

R R2 R2 p
.15 .02 .02 .05
.18 .03 .01 ns
.38 .15 .12 .001
.57 .33 .18 .001
.07 .00 .00 ns
.15 .02 .02 ns
.42 .18 .16 .001
.60 .37 .19 .001

.15 .02 .02 .01

.17 .03 .01 ns
.24 .06 .03 .05
.35 .12 .06 .001

Note. Standardized betas are shown in parentheses.

Burnout in Norwegian Police Officers

77

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Burnout and Psychological Health

Table 5 presents the results of hierarchical regression analyses in which

three measures of psychological health were regressed on the four blocks of
predictors. First, three blocks of predictors accounted for significant amounts
of or increments in explained variance on levels of subjective health complaints (not work situation characteristics). Officers who had more education
indicated fewer health complaints ( .08). Officers indicating greater
cognitive demands reported more subjective health complaints ( .14).
Finally, officers reporting greater emotional exhaustion also reported more
health complaints ( .49).
Second, two blocks of predictors accounted for significant increments in
explained variance on posttraumatic stress syndrome indicators (not personal
demographics or work situation characteristics). Police officers indicating
higher levels of role conflict reported more posttraumatic symptoms (
.10). Finally, police officers reporting higher levels of emotional exhaustion
and those indicating less professional efficacy also reported more posttraumatic symptoms (s .46 and .07, respectively).
Third, three blocks of predictors accounted for significant amounts of
and increments in explained variance on suicidal ideation (not work situation
characteristics). Married police officers indicated less suicidal ideation than
did single officers ( .16). Police officers reporting higher levels of
emotional exhaustion and those indicating greater cynicism reported more
suicidal ideation (s .20 and .11, respectively).
Burnout components accounted for the largest amount of variance on
each of the three indicators of psychological health. Emotional exhaustion
had a significant and independent relationship with each outcome measure.
The four blocks of predictors only accounted for moderate amounts of
variance on these outcomes however.

Burnout and Physical Health

Table 6 presents the results of regression analyses in which four measures of physical health were regressed on the four blocks of predictors. First,
three blocks of predictors accounted for significant amounts of or increments
in explained variance on self-reported overall health (not work situation
characteristics). Police officers indicating less favorable leadership and those
reporting greater quantitative demands also reported poorer general health
(s .09 and .10, respectively). Police officers indicating higher levels of
emotional exhaustion also reported poorer overall health ( .23).
Second, two blocks of predictors accounted for significant increments in

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Burke and Mikkelsen

Table 6. Burnout and Physical Health

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Physical health
Health (N 641)
Personal demographics
Situational characteristics
Work demands
Quantitative (.09)
Leadership (.10)
Burnout
Exhaustion (.23)
Medication use (N 643)
Personal demographics
Situational characteristics
Work demands
Burnout
Exhaustion (.32)
Sick days (N 642)
Personal demographics
Situational characteristics
Work demands
Leadership (.10)
Burnout
Exhaustion (.21)
Number sick days (N 606)
Personal demographics
Marital status (.09)
Situational characteristics
Organizational level (.13)
Police tenure (.24)
Work demands
Burnout
Exhaustion (.15)

R2

R2

.20
.24
.32

.04
.06
.10

.04
.02
.04

.001
ns
.001

.38

.14

.04

.001

.12
.16
.27
.38

.02
.03
.07
.14

.02
.01
.04
.07

ns
ns
.001
.001

.11
.19
.26

.01
.04
.07

.01
.03
.03

ns
.05
.05

.31

.10

.06

.001

.16

.03

.03

.01

.23

.05

.02

.01

.30
.32

.09
.10

.04
.01

.01
.05

Note. Standardized betas are shown in parentheses.

explained variance on medication use (not personal demographics or work

situation characteristics). Police officers reporting higher levels of exhaustion
also indicated greater medication use ( .22).
Third, three blocks of predictors accounted for significant increments in
explained variance on whether any sick days had been taken during the past
6 months (not personal demographics). Police officers reporting less access to
information and officers reporting less favorable leadership also indicated
having taken sick days (s .11, and 10, respectively). Finally, police
officers indicating higher levels of emotional exhaustion were more likely to
have taken sick days ( .21).
Fourth, all four blocks of predictors accounted for a significant amount
of or increment in explained variance on number of sick days taken. Single
police officers took more sick days ( 09). Officers at lower organizational levels and officers with longer police tenure took more sick days ( s
.13 and .24, respectively). Finally, police officers reporting greater emotional exhaustion took more sick days ( .15).

Burnout in Norwegian Police Officers

79

Emotional exhaustion showed an independent and significant relationship with the four physical health measures. The four blocks of predictors
accounted for only a small amount of variance in each instance, however.

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DISCUSSION

This study had two research objectives. The first was to identify potential
predictors of psychological burnout components among police officers; the
second was to examine the relationship of burnout with a variety of work and
personal well-being measures. The findings are consistent with previous
results and extend our understanding of the effects of burnout in work
settings.

Predictors of Burnout

Both work demands and social resources contributed significantly to

each of the three burnout components. It is not surprising that work demands
had the strongest relationship with all three. Consistent with earlier work,
personal demographics and work situation characteristics had weaker and
inconsistent relationships with burnout components (Burke & Richardsen,
2001; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998).

Burnout and Work Outcomes

The research model (see Figure 2) accounted for significant variance in

all work outcomes. Both job demands and burnout components had strong
relationships in all cases (see Table 3). Cynicism, which had previously been
found to be prevalent among police officers (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998),
had significant and independent relationships in each case.

Burnout and WorkFamily Issues

Both job demands and burnout components accounted for significant

increments in explained variance on the two workfamily measures. Exhaustion had significant and independent relationships with both.

80

Burke and Mikkelsen

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Burnout and Psychological Health

Again, job demands and burnout components accounted for significant

increments in explained variance on all three measures of psychological
health, with burnout contributing more than job demands. Exhaustion had
significant and independent relationships with all three measures. There is
considerable evidence that exhaustion is the strongest predictor of most
individual work and well-being outcomes (see Burke & Richardsen, 2001;
Schaufeli & Buunk, 2003; Schaufeli & Enzman, 1998).

Burnout and Physical Health

Consistent with previous work, both job demands and burnout components contributed less strongly to physical health outcomes (see Schaufeli &
Enzmann, 1998, for similar conclusions). However, burnout components,
specifically exhaustion, had a significant and independent relationship with
all four physical health indicators. Shirom and his colleagues have argued for
such a relationship in spite of previous inconsistent or weak findings. They
argued that exhaustion is most likely to have such effects not only on
self-reports of physical health but on physiological markers as well as
specific disease entities (Shirom, 2002).

Addressing Burnout

Some writing has identified possible interventions to reduce levels of

burnout (Burke & Richardsen, 2001; Schaufeli & Buunk, 2003; Schaufeli &
Enzmann, 1998). Our findings suggest two fruitful targets for intervention:
reducing job demands and improving social resources. Relative to changes in
demands of the work environment (Maslach & Leiter, 1997), useful initiatives would involve making more information available to officers, clarifying
job roles and desired approaches to policing, allowing officers greater input
and influence in the conduct of their assignments, training senior police
supervisors in human resource management skills, and encouraging greater
candor within the force in the day-to-day pursuit of the job. If they learn to
cope with stress better, police officers will be less likely to report negative
attitudinal and psychological effects.
Improving social and coping resources might involve education in active
coping and positive lifestyle behaviors. In addition, it could entail capitalizing on the usually strong camaraderie existing in police forces and using this
resource to more formally encourage and empower peers to solicit and

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Burnout in Norwegian Police Officers

81

provide consecutive social support. The development of mentoring systems,

buddy arrangements, and team policing are useful initiatives. If the work
environment is changed, the sources of burnout can be addressed. In addition,
monitoring both levels of job demands and burnout can serve as an early
warning signal. This information might also identify police officers who need
counseling or treatment because they are burned out (Quick, Quick, Nelson,
& Hurrell, 1997). Our findings and recommendations are consistent with a
new and emerging intercept in the healthy work organization (Cooper &
Williams, 1994); Dejoy & Wilson, 2003; Lindstrom, 1994; Shannon, Robson, & Sale, 2001). Wilson, Dejoy, Vandenberg, Richardson, and McGrath
(2004) developed and validated a model of healthy work organization showing the fundamental role organizational climate plays in employee work
adjustment, health, and well-being. Their model provides a basis for intervention as well as both a framework for the diagnosis of problem areas and
a basis for taking action.

Limitations

We note a few limitations of the study to put the findings into a broader
context. First, all data were collected with self-report questionnaires, which
raises the possibility of response set tendencies. Second, some of the measures had low internal consistency reliabilities, below the usually accepted
level of .70. Third, it is not clear the extent to which the findings generalize
to policing in other countries. It has been observed that countries differ in
their approach to policing. Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) concluded, however, that burnout profiles in the United States and the Netherlands were
similar. It is also not clear the extent to which these findings generalize to
nonpolice occupations, although some occupations (e.g., firefighters) may be
similar to police officers and produce the same results.

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