Role Ambiguity and Cynicism among Police Officers: Mediation by Job Demands and Burnout

This study investigates the effect of role ambiguity on job cynicism among police officers, drawing on recent cases in which role confusion between investigative agencies such as the police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials became evident during a national crisis. Prior research suggests that role ambiguity generates psychological confusion and distrust among organizational members, which may lead to cynical attitudes toward their duties. In this study, job demands and burnout were set as mediating variables to empirically examine the relationship between role ambiguity and cynicism in the police organization. The analysis revealed that higher levels of role ambiguity significantly increased job cynicism, and both job demands and burnout mediated this relationship. This indicates that when police officers perceive ambiguity in their roles, their job demands and burnout intensify, thereby reinforcing cynical attitudes. Based on these findings, several policy implications were proposed to enhance organizational effectiveness. First, with the institutionalization of the autonomous police system, the scope of police duties must be clearly defined to minimize confusion in the field, and new crime categories should be accompanied by explicit guidelines. Second, job redesign and workforce redistribution are required to address workload imbalances across divisions and jurisdictions, with staffing standards based on crime frequency and scope of responsibility. Third, programs to reduce the psychological burden of police officers should be expanded, including the introduction of AI-based counseling systems to complement existing mental health support services. This study contributes to the literature by empirically verifying the mediating effects of job demands and burnout in the relationship between role ambiguity and cynicism within the Korean police context. Nonetheless, limitations remain, such as the restricted scope of mediating variables and the absence of qualitative data. Future research should incorporate a wider range of organizational psychology variables and draw on in-depth field experiences to enhance the robustness of analysis.