The Relationship Between Organizational Climate, Work Fatigue, and Readiness for Change in the Norwegian Police Service

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between organizational climate, individual readiness for change, and work fatigue. The thesis investigates global climate as conceptualized by Kuenzi (2008), based on the Competing Values Framework developed by Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983), its direct effects on readiness for change and work fatigue, and its indirect effects on readiness through work fatigue. Following Frone and Tidwell (2015) work fatigue was conceptualized as a three-dimensional construct consisting of physical, mental, and emotional fatigue. Readiness for change has been found to play a central part in the successful implementation of change initiatives. As the police is currently undergoing a large reform, it is interesting to examine factors which may be of importance in this process. The study tested a total of 23 hypotheses using structural equation modeling, on a sample of 216 employees from a district of the Norwegian police service. Cross-sectional data was gathered as part of a collaborative research project between the research department at the Norwegian Police University College and the Department of Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Oslo. The results suggest that global climate positively predicts individual readiness for change. Furthermore, climate had a positive direct effect on mental and emotional work fatigue, indicating that climate was associated with lower levels of fatigue. However, the direct effects of climate on physical fatigue, and of work fatigue on readiness for change were not significant. In addition, no support was found for an indirect effect of climate on readiness for change through work fatigue. The study contributes to the field by emphasizing the importance of examining the organizational climate in relation to a planned change approach to change management, as it is directly related to individual readiness for change and the well-being of the employees