1. Work-family conflict and job-related wellbeing in UK police officers: the role of recovery strategies
Gail Kinman, University of Bedfordshire, UK
Almuth McDowall & Mark Cropley, University of Surrey, UK

2. Police officers, stressors and strains
Policing is one of the most stressful occupations
High levels of organisational and operational stressors (Brown et al, 1999; Houdmont et al, 2012)
Comparatively poor physical/psychological health and low job satisfaction (Johnson et al., 2006)
High risk of burnout, particularly emotional exhaustion and PTSD (Burke, 1993; Hall et al, 2010)
Research from several countries
Organisational – relating to management and the culture; Operational stressors – emotional labour; exposure to death and disaster ; violence and injury ; sexual crime.
Uk national study examined levels compared with other 25 other occupational groups – in top six most stressful jobs (particularly lower grade

3. Police and work-family conflict
Negative impact on family life
Job demands, long/unpredictable hours, dangerous/emotionally demanding work, high job involvement (e.g. Burke, 1993; Johnson et al, 2005)
More insight required into work-family conflict in police and the impact on wellbeing
Time/strain based conflict (Greenhaus & Beutell,1985)
Behaviour-based conflict – more salient in inter-dependent jobs with more interpersonal contact (Dierdorff & Ellington, 2008)
Little yet known about WLC in police and its impact
Police officers experience the type of work demands associated with WLC in other occupational groups
Research has found police officers at high risk of marital dissatisfaction, divorce and domestic violence
Potential for time-based conflict (working hours) also strain-based due to emotional demands and job involvement)
Previously been argued that behaviour based conflict is less relevant to workers than time-based and strain-based so little examined.
Enrichment – the extent to which experiences in one role improve the quality of life in another role

4. Recovery experiences during non-working time
Recovery opportunities related to wellbeing and job performance (Sonnentag & Fritz, 2007)
Recovery experiences predict work-family conflict, strain and life satisfaction (Moreno-Jimenez, 2008)
Relaxation and socialising particularly important for police (Iswasaki, 2003)
Psychological detachment = positive outcomes; rumination (affective and problem solving) = negative outcomes (Cropley & Purvis, 2003)
recuperation and rest during non-work time - important to promote physical and psychological health, job performance
Iwasaki - Longitudinal study with police found engagement in leisure (particularly relaxation and socialising) – use different functional systems
Moreno-Jimenez - Type of recovery experiences also moderate relationship between WFC and wellbeing, with psychological detachment/disengagement being particularly important
Based on findings by Cropley & Purvis, Study will examine 3 types of recovery strategies – detachment – positive outcome problem solving rumination less negative outcomes than affective rumination – on job-related mood and job satisfaction

5. Aims of study:
To examine relationships between work-family conflict and job satisfaction and job-related mood
To investigate associations between recovery strategies, work-family conflict and outcomes
To examine whether recovery strategies mediate the link between work demands and work-family conflict
To explore the strategies utilised by police officers to recover from work demands
Look at WLC uni-directionally, as although the reverse is possible, Work to life is more common and potentially more damaging
Chose to look at job-related outcomes as most studies examine context free wellbeing
Three aspects of WFC
Three recovery stratgies

6. Sample and method
547 police officers (61% male) M age=36 (SD=10) all working shifts
Quantitative job demands
Work-family conflict: strain, time, behaviour-based (Carlson et al, 2000)
Recovery: affective rumination, problem solving rumination and detachment (Cropley, 2008)
Job satisfaction (Warr et al, 1990)
Job-related mood: depression-enthusiasm and anxiety-contentment (Warr et al, 1990)
Open-ended question about recovery strategies utilised
Working in a police force in the SE of England – part of a larger study looking at employees of a large police force
A series of well validated measures
Online questionnaire
Thematic content analysis of qualitative data

7. Results: 1
Moderate levels of all 3 WFC dimensions (time-based M=3.62 (SD=1.07); strain-based; M=3.41 (SD=1.14); behaviour-based M=3.21 (SD=.98)
Significant positive relationship between job demands and all 3 dimensions of WFC (p<.001)
All 3 dimensions of WFC significantly associated with job satisfaction and job-related mood (p<.001)
Evidence that police experience behaviour-based conflict
Weaker relationship with behaviour based conflict
2. Particularly strong relationships between strain-based conflict and job-related depression-enthusiasm and anxiety-contentment

8. Results: 2
Detachment = better WF outcomes, more job satisfaction and better job-related mood
Problem-solving rumination = poorer WF outcomes and worse job-related mood (job satisfaction non sig.)
Affective rumination = poorer WF outcomes, less job satisfaction and worse job-related mood
All recovery strategies had stronger effects on strain-based conflict than other dimensions
Detachment associated with less work-family conflict
Affective rumination associated with all three dimensions of WFC
Problem solving rumination – no sign. Relationship with job satisfaction, and relationships with WF outcomes and satisfaction and mood were weaker, suggesting that this form of rumination is not so damaging
All recovery strategies stronger effects on strain-based conflict than time-based and behaviour based

9. Mediation effects of recovery strategies
Job
demands
Strain-based
WFC
Problem-solving
rumination
.09***
.01 (ns)
.31***
Job
demands
Strain-based
WFC
Affective
rumination
.15***
.01 (ns)
.37***
Job
demands
Strain-based
WFC
Detachment
-.15***
.02 (ns)
-.31***
Potential mediation effects of recovery strategies done using bootstrapping analysis as recommended by Preacher and Hayes (2008).
Evidence for partial mediation for all strategies.

10. Recovery strategies A wide range of strategies utilised
Spending time with family and friends
Sleeping, relaxing and watching TV
Engaging in voluntary work
Hobbies and interests
Exercise – gym, dog walking
Drinking alcohol and smoking
Unpredictable demands interfered with recovery
Many had little time available to disengage from work activities and concerns
Different functional systems
Active and passive strategies

11. Conclusions:
Findings highlight the important role played by work-family conflict in the job-related wellbeing of police
Evidence that police experience behaviour-based conflict, but strain-based is most damaging
Recovery strategies are important mechanisms by which job demands are translated into WFC
Diary studies need to examine mechanisms by which job demands impact on recovery strategies which, in turn, impact on non-working life