Organizational Factors, Leadership, and Commitment: A Systematic Review of Employee Retention in Police Organizations

Abstract

Police organizations worldwide face growing challenges regarding long-term workforce stability. Key drivers include demographically driven retirement waves, declining applicant numbers, and increasing voluntary turnover. Against this backdrop, this systematic literature review examines empirical evidence on employee retention in police organizations and identifies conceptual approaches to strengthening retention. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a structured literature search was conducted (June 2024 to February 2025) across five international databases (Web of Science Core Collection, PubPsych, Emerald Insight, ScienceDirect, and Business Source Premier/EBSCOhost), complemented by additional sources. No restrictions were imposed on the publication period. Peer-reviewed empirical studies published in German or English and conducted in democratic countries were included. After duplicate removal and multi-stage screening, 20 studies were retained for analysis. The findings indicate that employee retention in policing is shaped by an interplay of organizational, social, psychological, and contextual factors. Leadership quality, perceived organizational support, and social embeddedness emerge as particularly consistent predictors, primarily operating through affective commitment. Job stress, high job demands, and emotional exhaustion constitute robust risk factors for turnover intentions, especially in the presence of insufficient resources. Compensation and benefits influence retention mainly through cost-benefit mechanisms and perceptions of fairness. Person-organization fit and meaningful work further stabilize commitment and intentions to stay. Socio-political crises may also affect employee retention in police organizations. The included studies further point to practice-oriented approaches such as leadership and career development strategies, family-friendly measures, compensation and incentive systems, as well as system-oriented frameworks for diagnosing and addressing causes of turnover.