Job satisfaction, health issues, and social and domestic situations: Comparing the effects of shiftwork on criminal justice professionals

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of the 12-hour shift as it pertained to police officers who have worked both the 8-hour and 12-hour shifts. This research has specifically compared the areas of job satisfaction, health issues and social and domestic situations between the 8-hour and 12-hour shifts. Modern-day law enforcement is a 24-hour, 7-day operation and the vast majority of police officers work a variety of police schedules. Some police agencies employ the traditional 8-hour shifts, while others engage a 10-hour shift or a 12-hour shift. The traditional 8-hour shifts in police agencies have been 7:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m. In contrast, the 12-hour shifts have been usually 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m. With the traditional hour assignments of the 12-hour shift, the work environment is either daytime or nighttime conditions. Police organizations are bound by the 24-hour responsibility to deploy officers to public safety issues. A Mann-Whitney U test was selected to compare the test variables between police officers working the 8-hour shift and 12-hour shift. The Mann-Whitney U test was expected to determine if there were significant differences between the 8-hour and 12-hour shifts with respect to job satisfaction, health issues and social and domestic situations. The findings, however, showed no significant difference in the variables, yet the findings still contribute to the evaluation of whether or not police officers work the 8-hour or 12-hour shift.