Voluntary resignations from the police service: the impact of organisational and occupational stressors on organisational commitment

The numbers of police officers in England and Wales who resigned voluntarily from the service have been increasing rapidly recent years. Despite this, there has scant attention paid to this issue academically or organisationally. Using guiding framework organisational commitment with its focus upon active institutional identification, paper considers officer decisions resign service. It does through an analysis a survey distributed one English force had between November 2014 June 2019. findings demonstrate that resigning highly value occupation they joined, nature their work, opportunities for fulfilling public ambitions satisfaction working policing colleagues as part team. also indicate however are ultimately frustrated by perceived inability organisation manage demands them sense ‘injustice’ emanating perceptions lack ‘voice’, leadership, autonomy support. This damages exchange-based relationship managers, causing decline affective commitment. Consequently, these factors negative personal impact physical mental health caring responsibilities relationships outside environment.