Long Work Hours Not Deployments Hurt Morale
A Rand research study has confirmed something that I feel many military members would agree with:
Overwork is harder on military morale than deployments, and the military should consider providing extra pay and other rewards to people who put in unusually long hours, according to a new study by the Rand Corp. think tank.
The money or recognition would go to both deployed and nondeployed people under the recommendations in the study, “How Deployments Affect Servicemembers,†released Dec. 20 by Rand Corp.’s National Security Research Division.
The work was based on a combination of focus groups and surveys that looked at morale in the ranks and service members’ stated intentions to stay in or leave the military.
Researchers found people who perceive they are working longer than usual, whether at their home bases or while deployed, say they are less likely to remain in the military.
Deployments, when judged alone, tend to make service members more likely to remain in the military, said James Hosek, one of the report’s authors.
I think long work hours are something that absolutely kills morale. Especially when you are working long work hours for no reason. I have seen this to often in the Army where you have a supervisor that BSs around all day than likes to work late into the evening because he is not married or whatever other reason and keeps the rest of his subordinates in late with him, instead of giving the soldiers work to get done during duty hours.
There is nothing more frustrating than getting ready to go home at the close of business and then getting a meeting or work project dumped on you right before you are about to step out the door and have already called the wife to let her know you would be home for dinner.
Deployments are not bad and are in fact good for morale when the soldiers all believe in what they are doing. However, very few people believe in working till 2200 every night and that is what kills morale.
