Measuring Job Performance in the Army: Insights from Evidence on Civilian Stress and Health

Abstract

Job performance in the US Army is a complex construct, in part because of the stressors that soldiers face, both day-to-day and during deployment. This chapter critically reviews job performance, and the connections between performance and stress and health, discussing how findings may also be relevant within the specific context of the Army. We review established conceptualizations and metrics of job performance within the Army as well as the civilian sector. Then, we discuss the existing research on the associations between performance and stress, physical health, health behaviors, and mental health. Considering these findings, we discuss lessons learned for Army performance metrics, recommending that stress- and health-related issues be incorporated into unit and leader performance metrics, with two critical caveats: (1) data are aggregated at a company level and (2) non-reactive measures are used. Finally, we discuss how existing data repositories can facilitate future research and note potential constraints of using secondary data.

Citation

Hawkins, S.A., Vie, L.L., Wolf, P.S.A., Lester, P.B., Whittaker, K.S., Hawkins, J.N. and Perez, A.L. (2018), "Measuring Job Performance in the Army: Insights from Evidence on Civilian Stress and Health", Harms, P.D. and Perrewé, P.L. (Ed.) Occupational Stress and Well-Being in Military Contexts (Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being, Vol. 16), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 49-68. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-355520180000016004