Ute i fältet : En kvalitativ studie om polisers engagemang på arbetsplatsen

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to examine how police patrol officers experience different work-related factors and how they impact their organisational commitment. Organisational commitment in this study is based on the work by Meyer and Allen, which previous research has shown to be impactful for police officers’ intentions to leave their jobs. Different work-related factors, such as job satisfaction, work values, heavy workloads and perceived organisational support have also been linked with commitment. Combined with a lack of Swedish studies this motivated the execution of the present study. The data was collected using four semi-structured interviews with patrol officers. The interviewed patrol officers mentioned a variety of work-related factors that could act as facilitating or inhibiting for their commitment. Some factors were mentioned as unanimously positive, such as work variety or colleagues. One of the most important findings was the discovery of a previously unexplored topic regarding material- and personnel resources. The patrol officers that mentioned material resources described their experiences of an unfair distribution of the resources, while the experiences with personnel resources were divided. The findings have partially aligned with previous international research, and an important implication is the importance of an individual perspective in the accommodation of job-related characteristics. It is therefore important for the Swedish Police Authority to account for individual needs and preferences. There is also a need for further Swedish studies that examine police officers’ commitment that can add to the existing international research base, as well as potentially discovering additional factors that can affect their commitment.