| dc.description.abstract | Increasing employee engagement levels requires an understanding of how occupational stress
management techniques relate to engagement. This is why working in law enforcement is still a
stressful job that is marked by threats, high standards, and murky business dealings. If law
enforcement organisations wish to raise staff engagement levels, they must adhere to the most
important occupational stress management techniques. The factors that cause long-term
employee disengagement are workplace stressors. This study explored the impact of
occupational stress management strategies on police officers’ engagement in Uasin Gishu
County, Kenya, using the social exchange theory, which suggests that employees are more
engaged when they feel supported by their organization. Focusing on work-life balance,
employee counseling, safety and health programs, and perceived organizational support (POS),
the study gathered data from 242 officers across 34 stations. The findings showed that these
stress management strategies significantly increased engagement, with officers reporting
higher motivation and commitment when they felt supported in balancing work demands,
accessing counseling, and maintaining safety and health. Perceived organizational support
proved to be a key factor that strengthened the positive impact of these strategies, raising the
model’s explanatory power from 70.7% to 73.5%, meaning that officers who felt strong
organizational support were even more positively affected by these practices. Additionally,
each factor—work-life balance, counseling, safety, and health—independently boosted
engagement, underscoring their individual contributions. By rejecting the null hypothesis, the
study concluded that occupational stress management strategies, especially when reinforced by
organizational support, are essential for enhancing engagement among law enforcement
personnel, highlighting the importance for law enforcement agencies to invest in these
supportive initiatives to help officers feel valued, resilient, and more connected to their work.
The combined impact of these factors is of significant importance. The aforementioned implies
that the National Police Service ought to give precedence to the enhancement and consolidation
of policies pertaining to occupational stress management practises and perceived organisational
support policies. This is imperative to efficaciously tackle the issue of occupational stress and
foster elevated levels of employee engagement among law enforcement officers. | en_US |
