Effects of Deployments on Homestation Job Stress and Burnout

The Global War on Terrorism has increased the demands placed on military members. The increased rate of deployments, coupled with the reduction in resources, has military leaders concerned that these changing demands will cause undue strain, adversely affecting the military member's quality of life. This research tests the effects of active duty military deployments on homestation job stressors and burnout. Pre- and post- deployment surveys were administered to test for any significant changes that resulted from a deployment. A group of non-deploying members was also measured during the same time frame to serve as the control group. Results showed that deployments resulted in increased levels of two facets of job satisfaction and decreased levels of role conflict, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. The only significant change noted by the control group was a decrease in the level of organizational commitment. Therefore, despite the fact that military deployments can be extremely stressful themselves, they do offer some beneficial effects to military members upon return to their homestation environment. On the other hand, those who do not get a "break" from the everyday work environment either stay the same or show less desirable levels of job stress and burnout.