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Abstract
This study examines the effects of occupational stigma on employee well-being and withdrawal, as well as the impact that leadership behaviors and condemnation of critics has on these relationships. The dirty work literature (Ashforth & Kreiner, 1999), Job Demands-Resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014; Demerouti, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001), and Conservation of Resources theory (Hobfall, 1989) guide the study hypotheses. Participants included 512 law enforcement officers. Participants completed measures on occupational stigma, burnout, turnover intentions, psychosomatic complaints, team-oriented leadership behaviors, and condemnation of occupational critics. Results show that occupational stigma indirectly affects psychosomatic complaints and turnover intentions through two aspects of burnout: exhaustion and mental distance. A test of the conditional indirect effects as a function of team-oriented leadership behaviors and condemnation of condemners failed to show significant conditional effects. These findings support and expand dirty work theory and offer several practical recommendations for avenues for future research.