From Combat to Khakis: An Exploratory Examination of Job Stress With Veterans

Abstract

Veterans are having a difficult time reintegrating back into the civilian sector following their service, with nearly 44% reporting some type of problem. The experienced stress and resultant strain associated with this reintegration may be caused by an incongruence between veterans’ military identities and their civilian work environments, a form of strain we term veteran identity strain (Vet-IS). To better understand the experienced strain associated with incongruent veteran and civilian work identities, we examine the effects of military rank on Vet-IS, the moderating role of political skill on the relationship between rank and Vet-IS, and how this relationship affects the outcomes of work intensity and vigor. A mediated moderation analysis of 251 veterans provided support for most study hypotheses, which predicted that rank would have an indirect effect on work intensity and vigor through Vet-IS, conditional upon veterans’ levels of political skill. Contributions and future research directions are discussed.