Crisis? What crisis? Exploring professional reintegration challenges after deployment

Beschrijving

Our world faces many emerging and ongoing crises, from natural disasters to armed conflicts. These crises require action by a large variety of services, from firemen, humanitarian aid and healthcare workers, to peacekeeping and peace-enforcing military and police. Many of these are sent on temporary deployments, going through cycles of preparation, deployment, return and reintegration. This cycle requires a constant adaptation from operational environments to life in the home country, posing both psychological and physical challenges. In this context, our study focuses on military personnel navigating these deployment transitions. The unique challenges of this transition can strain soldiers’ resilience, necessitating a thorough examination of each deployment stage. Understanding the challenges and potential outcomes impacting performance, motivation, and well-being is crucial, given the moral and legal responsibility military defences hold for their personnel's welfare. However, the post-deployment stage, particularly the reintegration process, has received insufficient research and policy attention. Reintegration unfolds as soldiers resume their roles in the community, family, and workplace. While extensive research focuses on individual and interpersonal dimensions of reintegration, the professional aspect remains underexplored. To address this gap, the present study delves into the professional reintegration experiences and needs of returning Belgian military service members using in-depth qualitative interviews and a quantitative questionnaire. More precisely, the study focuses on analysing the professional challenges encountered during the reintegration process, relying on extensive qualitative interviews (N=30). Additionally, the questionnaire (N=200) delves into understanding the different organisational dynamics, such as the culture and relationships among co-workers and leaders that can impact the reintegration process. This comprehensive study aims to fill existing research gaps, shedding light on the intricate dynamics of the reintegration process for the betterment of soldiers' well-being and career sustainability.

Periode	24 jul. 2024
Evenementstitel	33rd International Congress of Psychology: Psychology for the Future: Together in Hope
Evenementstype	Congres
Conferentienummer	33
Locatie	Prague, TsjechiëToon op kaart
Mate van erkenning	Internationaal