Perceived organizational support and emotional labour among police communicators: what can organizational context tell us about posttraumatic stress?

Objective: As central members of the emergency response system, communicators are regularly exposed to potentially traumatic events and experience some of the highest rates of posttraumatic stress. Given elevated rates of distress, they are regularly called upon to manage emotions-their own and others'-during high-risk and high-stress situations, within a highly controlled organizational context. Emotional labour (EL) theory suggests that many individuals faced with this challenge utilize a strategy in which emotions are suppressed or faked (surface acting-SA) in keeping with organizational expectations.

Methods: This study was designed to examine the relationships among reported EL, perceived organizational support, job stress, and severity of posttraumatic stress among a population of communicators.

Results: Job pressure and perceived lack of organizational support were positively associated with posttraumatic stress. Although the highest reported levels of SA occurred when interacting with members of the public, this SA was not associated with posttraumatic stress, unlike SA with co-workers and supervisors. SA with co-workers and supervisors was further related to perceptions of lack of organizational support.

Conclusion: Thus, an organization perceived as unsupportive may create a culture in which individuals are dissuaded from expressing true emotions with colleagues and supervisors, potentially magnifying the traumatic effects of exposure to critical incidents.