Earlier this month the Ministry of Defence was told in a House of Commons defence committee report that the Armed Forces were losing large numbers of experienced personnel because they were fed up with constantly being away from home. At the same time new figures showed that one in 14 infantrymen is “unfit to deploy”. This means that 7,000 infantrymen are unfit to fight, with every regiment of 600 facing a shortfall of 100 people because of problems with recruitment and the numbers leaving the Army.
This paints a pretty grim picture of resourcing in the military – particularly at a time when it is so actively engaged. There’s no doubt that staff in the Army face some unique challenges and dangers, but reading these figures I can’t help wondering how different the Army really is to other organisations.
Ultimately, soldiers, airmen and naval officers are all employees like you and me. Yes, they take enormous risk to life and limb in their daily work, but just like your average office worker or teacher or social worker, if they don’t feel good about going to work each day then their motivation will begin to drop off. Like any business the Army has targets and its leaders have to use their resources, both human and material, to achieve those targets. However, if those resources are not managed in a sustainable way results will deteriorate over time.
Asking soldiers to stay out in Iraq for an extra two months is different in that it is more risky and life threatening but many teachers, social workers, police officers and managers are being asked to work longer unsocial hours. The effect on the employee is the same because it forces him/her to think about what is reasonable based on his/her psychological contract with the employer. It’s at this point that employees’ thoughts turn to their non-work life and they feel a ‘pull’ back towards it. When work life doesn’t seem like it’s treating us fairly it’s natural to feel this pull and in extreme circumstances this results in a decision to terminate the relationship with the current employer altogether – as is happening in the Army right now. And when organisations have high staff turnover it spins out into all sorts of negative consequences – including skill shortages, increased accident rates and succession planning becoming impossible.
I thought that Col. Bob Stewart, who commanded British forces in Bosnia, summed up the parallels perfectly when he said:
“They need more rest, more training and more time off operational duty. The fact is that they are knackered. The operational commitments are so great now that people - particularly in the infantry - have not been able to recoup and retrain. As a soldier you must be given the chance to rest otherwise you are exhausted. And if you are exhausted you are far more likely to get sick.”
Remind you of any workplaces you’ve been recently?
