Discontent Within the Ranks?: Officers' Attitudes Toward Military Employment and Representation—A Four-Country Comparative Study

In: Armed forces & society, Band 35, Heft 3, S. 477-500

Abstract

Numerous studies have examined how armed forces have adapted their organizational and force structures to become more cost-effective, flexible, and deployable. However, comparatively few studies have looked at how these systemic influences affect attitudes toward military employment. With reference to findings of a survey conducted among middle-ranking officers in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, and Germany, the attitudes of officers toward their current employment is examined within a comparative context, by referring to the impact of organizational restructuring on their careers and on commitment to military service; issues relating to pay, service, and work conditions; trust in military leadership's ability to defend their interests; and the perceived need for some form of independent representation. The study concludes that the present discontent within the ranks is creating a kind of professional or institutional disunity, which may necessitate a revision of how employee relations are managed within armed forces.