This research explores the role of employee voice in alleviating workplace stress among police officers in the Tamil Nadu Police Department, India.
Grounded in Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) and organizational justice theories, this research explores the role of employee voice in alleviating workplace stress among police officers using moderated mediation analysis. Data were collected from two distinctive units involving 152 and 554 participants from an investigative agency and field policing divisions, respectively.
Employee voice mitigates stress through leader-member exchange. In investigative units, voice abates stress for those with low-status motives. However, in field units, the link between voice and stress is significant only for those with high-status motives.
The current research only includes police officers from Tamil Nadu, limiting its applicability. The research does not examine authority figures’ perspectives, which could help explain how verbal expressiveness affects supervisory-induced stress.
Nurturing leader-member relationships and tailoring interventions for officers with different status motives are recommended to mitigate stress in police departments. This research aims to foster a shift in attitude towards speaking up, moving away from rigid hierarchies to a more participative management approach.
This research examines employee voice outcomes within law enforcement hierarchies, highlighting the differential impact of voice on stress in specialized investigative and regular field policing units. These findings contrast with typical uniform stress measures observed within an organization.
