Financial security effects soldiers commitment

Soldiers who are financially better off are more likely to quit the army than those who are not.

This is one of the first findings of Miss Bertrand and colleagues from the University of Liege, Belgium who will present her findings at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology today, Thursday 10 January 2008, at Stratford-Upon-Avon Holiday Inn.

NATO currently has peace-keeping troops stationed in approximately 20 countries across the globe with no signs of this being reduced. Due to this, and the high number of soldiers leaving, they commissioned research to investigate why soldiers leave, or stay in the army.

Miss Bertrand tested the model of military turnover, created by NATO, on 1,500 Belgium trainee soldiers over a period of four years. One of the main findings showed that soldiers who were not financially well-off were more likely to stay as they needed the security of the job.

Other responses showed that soldiers who left at the beginning of training did so because they found military life did not meet with their expectations and they struggled to adapt. Those who decided to leave at later stages demonstrated a lack of commitment, problems with work-life balance, perceived job insecurity, lack of development opportunities and their own financial situation.

Interestingly those who were committed to stay felt the opposite but also cited their patriotism as a major factor.
Miss Bertrand commented: "If you consider the cost of training an average soldier and the benefits of having more experienced personnel then it is vitally important to find out why some people leave and why some stay. Armed with this information we can ensure that those who want a military career can achieve this by providing the right kind of support from their initial training right through their career."

Ref: PR1373