The Impact of Body Cameras on Emotional Labor and Occupational Burnout of Police Officers: Explaining the Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support

Today's world witnesses significant advancements in various fields of knowledge and technology. Police body cameras are one such technology equipped by the Iranian police. This research aimed to investigate the impact of body cameras on emotional labor and occupational burnout of police officers and to elucidate the mediating role of perceived organizational support. This research is applied in terms of objective and survey-based in terms of data collection method. The statistical population of the study consisted of police officers of the Law Enforcement Command in Hamadan province, and a sample of 124 officers was selected using simple random sampling method. Data were collected using a standardized and validated questionnaire (with a factor loading greater than 0.70 and Cronbach's alpha higher than 0.70) and analyzed using structural equation modeling in PLS software. The research revealed that the direct impact of body cameras on emotional labor and occupational burnout of police officers is positive and significant, while the impact on perceived organizational support of police officers is negative and significant. Additionally, the indirect effect of body cameras on emotional labor of police officers with the mediating role of perceived organizational support was confirmed; however, the indirect positive effect of body cameras on occupational burnout of police officers with the mediating role of perceived organizational support was also confirmed. The use of body cameras leads to an increase in emotional labor of police officers, decreases perceived organizational support, and increases their occupational burnout; therefore, managing the effects of using these cameras on police officers requires serious attention.