The effect of perceived organizational support on work engagement among police officers: The mediating role of career calling

Purpose This study examines how perceived organizational support (POS) influences work engagement among Chinese police officers, with particular attention to the mediating role of career calling. By distinguishing between perceived organizational emotional support (POES) and perceived organizational instrumental support (POIS), the study explores how different forms of organizational support are associated with officers’ motivational and work-related outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 300 police officers in China through a questionnaire survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the relationships among POS, career calling, and work engagement. Reliability, validity, and common method bias were assessed prior to hypothesis testing. The mediating role of career calling was examined using a bootstrap procedure with 5,000 resamples. Findings The results show that both emotional and instrumental support are positively associated with police officers’ career calling and work engagement. Career calling partially mediates these relationships, suggesting that organizational support contributes to engagement by strengthening officers’ psychological connection with their work. Furthermore, instrumental support exerts a stronger effect than emotional support, suggesting that tangible organizational resources play a particularly important role in fostering police officers’ engagement. Originality/value By distinguishing perceived organizational emotional support and perceived organizational instrumental support and identifying career calling as a mediating mechanism, this study extends existing research on organizational support and work engagement within a Chinese policing context. The findings provide additional evidence regarding how organizational support may be translated into sustained work engagement through employees’ perceptions of professional meaning and purpose.