Emotional Intelligence and its Effect on Police Officer Burnout

December 3, 2025

Emotional Intelligence and its Effect on Police Officer Burnout

Mike Thomas | 2021

Abstract

The policing profession is known to have a high amount of stress and fatigue as a result of responding to and handling critical incidents often involving the threat of physical violence or even death. This stress can lead to extreme fatigue and the possibility of mental health deterioration that can lead to burnout. The purpose of this study is to provide literature on the correlation between emotional intelligence and burnout in police officers. Participants were administered the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Survey (WLEIS) along with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The WLEIS provided scores of the four different components of emotional intelligence that include self-awareness (EI1), recognition of emotions in others (EI2), use of emotions to facilitate performance (EI3), and emotional regulation (EI4). The MBI provided scores of the three components of burnout that include emotional exhaustion (BO1), reduced accomplishments (BO2), and depersonalization (BO3). The data were collected through the dispersion of surveys by an online program and analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 27 software. The analysis of the data was examined using hierarchical regressions, and it was determined that there is a significant relationship between police officers’ emotional intelligence and their burnout.

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