Study shows Army reservists lack support from employers and managers

A new report has highlighted the difficulties some Army reservists have in getting support from their employer or manager to attend courses or when called up for duty.

The report titled Drawing on Reserves – Assessing Civilian Employer/Manager Support for Employees’ Part-time Military Service is part of the ‘Occasional Papers’ series produced by the Australian Army Research Centre (AARC).

It comes out at a crucial time for the Australian Defence Force, with recruitment and retention numbers falling far short of expectations at a time when all three services need to be growing.

The authors of the report – University of South Australia sociologist Associate Professor Brad West, and employment relations Associate Professor Dr Josh Healy from the University of Sydney – interviewed 60 reservists based in Sydney, Brisbane and Townsville in focus groups, and also drew data from a survey of 800 managers.

They say the survey showed that nearly 20 per cent of managers had indicated their organisation would likely give “low or very low support” to a reservist taking leave for training and combat duties.

They also say reservists had revealed that middle managers in both the public and private sectors and across different industries and organisation sizes had sought to deny Defence leave requests, irrespective of the organisation’s official stance.

“More than any other time in history reserves are a crucial part of defence capability. It’s a crucial aspect of filling short form in defence workforce numbers and it’s an area which needs policy development,” Associate Professor West said.

“What we found really was quite disturbing in terms of the general lack of support, indifference and, in some cases, discrimination against reserves as they try to take leave and reasonable periods of leave, which is their legal right.”

The report’s findings contrast with what is considered a generally positive view of Army reservists as employees, with between 70 and 80 per cent of employers believing reservists are hard workers and creative problem-solvers.

It said support for the part-time soldiers differed between industries, with managers in public administration, mining and healthcare sectors reporting a “significantly higher willingness” to support reservists’ service, which is likely a reflection of the large numbers of reservists and veterans already working in these sectors.

“One factor contributing to tensions in the less supportive workplaces was an incorrect perception among many managers that military skills were not useful in the civilian workplace,” Associate Professor West said.

It also revealed that 40 per cent of managers said military training and experience would have “low or very low relevance” in their organisation.

One reservist interviewed said, “Management loves to put the word forward, super supportive, love the Reserves, Defence Force, yeah, let’s go, but the second it comes to jumping on a course, they question everything.

“They question the importance of the Defence Force and that course,” they said. “They question whether I really need to be going to that course.”

Another said, “There is a lack of understanding among employers. They think it’s either a holiday or a hobby or just something fun to go on your days off, or a cash grab.

“When I try to explain to them that if something big happens in the Pacific tomorrow, I might have to go frontline, they don’t accept that.”

Associate Professor Healy said, “Interestingly, managers’ own personal attributes are generally not the main drivers of differences in their perceptions of reservists.

“We didn’t find different attitudes because of managers’ age, or sex, or even their own education levels.”

The report has made three key recommendations.

• That government and the ADF encourage voluntary adherence to the Defence Reserve Service (Protection) Act, by diversifying the current engagement with industry leaders through campaigns that seek to raise awareness and understanding of the act
• That industry-reservist relations would significantly benefit from reservists being provided with greater human resources (HR) support from Defence, specifically in the provision of increased certainty and notice regarding the scheduling of training courses, and promotion of the benefit of trained skills to civilian workplaces
• That government increase its efforts and modernise its approach to fostering understanding between the Australian public and the ADF, including recognising that reservists are integral to national security and are motivated primarily by a volunteer ethic rather than the pursuit of career or financial rewards.