Assessing the Correlates of Job Stress and Satisfaction Among Federal Law Enforcement Officers

Research on the occupational responses of federal government employees has grown dramatically over the last 40 years. Though invaluable, few have explored these issues in federal law enforcement populations who operate within diverse working environments that differ from traditional state and local police agencies, and other civil servants. In addition, their working lives can be impacted by political factors beyond their control, such as government shutdowns. These concerns may drive their occupational experiences, leading to different correlates for job stress and satisfaction compared to other law enforcement officers. This study attempts to explore the relationship between federal agents’ and officers’ perceptions of their organization, personal background, and concerns regarding government shutdowns and their occupational experiences. Responses from 891 respondents serving in 72 federal law enforcement agencies across the whole of the US government were used to conduct two separate ordinary least squares regression models for occupational stress and satisfaction, respectively. The implications of this study for our understanding of the dynamics shaping the experiences of the federal workforce and policies to improve their working lives are explored in detail.