Negotiating civilian and military lives: Reserves, family and work

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The British Armed Forces are currently undergoing unprecedented changes that will require full-time (Regular) and part-time (Reserve) military personnel to work together in new ways. These changes will affect the Army in particular, and will include a large-scale redundancy programme for Regular soldiers and increased recruitment of and reliance on Reserves. The flexibility and integration required to meet Defence priorities will need to be mirrored in how Reserves, their families and relationships, and their civilian employment, successfully mesh and become mutually supportive. Little research has been done in the United Kingdom (UK) regarding the demands part-time military service places on families, employers and co-workers. These demands are known to affect health outcomes for Reservists in ways different to those placed on Regulars. Less is known regarding their impact on Reservist's (civilian) employment, career progression, families and relationships. Our small-scale development study found that Reserves are often operating on the margins of their civilian working world, their military engagement and their family life, but there is a need to better understand these demands and how they intersect, and to extend the focus across different types of Reserves, for example including those who have previously served as Regulars. As a counterpoint to demands, findings from MoD consultations suggest that support from families and from civilian employers is crucial in encouraging Reserves and retaining them in military service. However, the detailed nature of such supports, and how they may intersect with demands, is unknown.We therefore aim to address these gaps in knowledge through a multi-methods study of the experiences of mainly Army Reserves, their families, their civilian employers and work colleagues to better understand how part-time military service impacts upon families and relationships and gain insight into how Reserves can be best supported to enrich and inform policy and practice. The research will be undertaken by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in family sociology, psychology, employment and military studies and comprises three linked work packages (WPs). In WP1 we will conduct in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 serving Reserves (representing a range of ranks and including men and women of different ages, ethnic origin and type of military employment) at two points over the duration of the project (30 months). This longitudinal element will allow us to examine the Reservist's lived experience of negotiating their different worlds and how these may change over time. In this WP will also interview two family members for each Reserve as well as their civilian employer or a work colleague, generating a total of 120 interviews from 80 interviewees. WP2 will utilise on-line digital survey methods to explore further the themes emerging from our qualitative data. The survey will be focused on Reserves and their families and will allow us to investigate aspects of e.g. support, such as the nature and quality of relationships, in more detail and amongst a much wider sample. WP3 will ensure synthesis and wider dissemination of the research. We will conduct three focus groups with a range of stakeholders (MoD, policy-makers) and will involve other users, including internationally (e.g. US and Canadian Departments of Defence) via a combination of face-face and on-line methods throughout the project. On-going user involvement will maximise the practical and policy relevance of our findings. The results will be disseminated via academic conference presentations and journal outputs alongside advice and information in accessible formats for a variety of audiences including policy briefings with the MoD, and practitioner seminars.