Factors of Health, Well-being and Professional Functioning among Police Personnel: A Comprehensive Review

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22658318

Kishor C. and Annalakshmi N. (Department of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)

Police personnel work in demanding environment characterized by operational risk, organizational stressors, irregular shift schedules, exposure to traumatic events, and high public accountability. These occupational demands impact on physical health, psychological well-being, work-life balance, organizational commitment, and professional functioning. The review examined the relationship between organizational commitment, occupational stress, work-life balance, and well-being among police personnel. The search used PubMed, Europe PMC, and Google Scholar, along with open-access platforms such as Frontiers, BioMed Central, and PLOS, as well as relevant institutional repositories. The search combined terms related to police personnel and the major concepts of the review, including “police personnel,” “police officers,” “law enforcement,” “organizational commitment,” “occupational and organizational stress,” “work-life balance,” “physical health problems,” “psychological well-being,” “resilience,” and “professional functioning.” The search initially identified 73 articles, of which 47 peer-reviewed studies meeting the predefined eligibility criteria were included in the final narrative synthesis; the review placed greater emphasis on empirical research published between 2016 and 2026. The literature was synthesized to examine how occupational demands and organizational conditions work together with individual and social resources to affect police personnel’s health and professional functioning. Findings indicate that occupational stress, shift work, limited organizational support, and poor work-life balance are associated with poorer physical and psychological health, while organizational support, peer and family resources, resilience, and supportive working conditions help personnel cope better with work demands. The review also identifies gaps in longitudinal and cross-cultural research, gender-specific experiences, and the measurement of professional functioning. An approach that considers individual, organizational, and social factors together offers a broader way to understand and improve the health, well-being, work-life balance, and professional functioning of police personnel.