Achieving Work-Life Balance in the Military, Research Paper Example

Executive Summary

Military deployment can be especially stressful on the ones being deployed as well as their families. Determining the perfect balance between personal and professional life is an individual task and the factors that affect the definition can vary depending on the circumstances of the time. It can be difficult to balance the load and tasks between life and work. This is especially true for military members whom are sent out on deployment away from their homes and families.

Transmittal Memo

The name of this article is “Work Life Balance for Military Deployment”. We would like to move forward with this article proposal given your approval. The proposal of an article to be published covering the hardships that military personnel must undergo while out on deployment would be beneficial to them as well as their families. The back matter of this topic has been covered as well as recommendations that should be integrated into the article. Secondary research methods were used to cover the fabric of this topic.

Deployments are a very stressful time for military families. The separation, changes in routines and the anxiety and concern by the absent parent are only some of its effects. Some important ways to help your child develop the skills needed in this difficult time are understand how you can respond to the deployment and know how we can help you to cope with the separation. (Cozza 2005)

The work-related stress is a phenomenon, which is becoming more common, which is increasing in our society, mainly because the types of work have been changing in recent decades. Affects the physical and psychological well-being of the worker and can damage the organizational climate. (Change 2002)

Currently, due to the relevance of the information in the production processes, required mental effort tasks that traditionally required only muscle strength. In addition, the pace of work has been increasing, as with a smaller number of workers have to be achieved better results.

But it’s not always the responses to deal with these demands are a negative character, since many times are necessary to deal with difficult situations and for survival. Every person requires of moderate levels of stress for successfully respond not only to their own needs or expectations, but in the same way with the demands of the environment. And the very low levels of stress are related to motivation, conformism and disinterest. (Change 2002)

For this reason, you can make the distinction between negative or positive stress (optimal level of arousal to perform activities required in our daily life) that exerts a protective function of the body and negative stress or distress (level of activation of the body to excessive or inadequate demand of the situation) that causes dysfunctions in the person. (Change 2002)

The first demands of work-life balance begin to surface in the early seventies in the more developed countries after the breakup of the reference model of the industrial era, in which the structure of the family classic, the industrial activity focused on the man subject to times and places of rigid labor and the consecration of women to the attention of the reproductive responsibilities bankruptcy to give way to new realities. As well, the dramatic growth in the participation of women in the labor market, the loss of prominence of the traditional family of a only economic maintainer in the pursuit of new typologies (dual income families, single parent families, etc.) and the progressive aging of the working people that make up the business organizations have marked a qualitative change that, however, has not been assumed by the world of production. (Change 2002) (Flake 2009)

Social perceptions about the work and the family have not changed at the same pace with which it has transformed the labor market. Corporations and enterprises present, today, some guidelines of structuring the work that respond to the interests and needs of an employee type of male gender belonging to a family model based on the male breadwinner and the woman in a dual role as a pillar of the family and subject of the first. This model of ‘ideal worker” man is not only discriminatory to women but also for men who have assumed their family responsibilities. (Change 2002)

As a result of this people are increasingly experiencing a growing conflict between work and family. Currently, there are many examples that show that the conflict between work and family, in addition to affecting the working person, has negative consequences for the company. Tables of stress, dissatisfaction labor, less commitment and performance with the goals of the company, brought to the latter to deal with rising costs in terms of productivity in decline, worse quality of life and loss of persons employed qualified. A proactive attitude of organizations with respect to this topic can be of great help taking into account that this is not only of the implementation of certain policies that will help to improve this conflict, but of the development of a new organizational culture. (Change 2002)

Many recommendations and tips should be given to military personnel as well as their families before they get sent out on deployment. This article idea is a beneficial outlet to do just that. With this article being published for the US military personnel, they can understand the stress and hardships of being sent out on deployment.

Being deployed in the military can be especially hard on family members. Infants and very young children are not old enough to understand the reason for the absence. However, feel the result of the changes in their lives. The absence of one of the parents and the consequent increase in the stress for the other parent may make them more irritable and difficult to soothe. The absence will change established routines and this may temporarily affect sleep and eating. (Lincoln 2008)

Such recommendations to military personnel would be to seek the help of relatives, neighbors and friends of confidence with the house or shopping and errands to devote the maximum amount of time possible to your new baby. Establish and maintain the routines as much as possible. Meet a predictable hours and respond to the needs of your baby is essential to the health and development. (McFarlane 2009)

For children small routines are very important because they transmit security. During a military deployment, the routines change as the father in charge is adjusted to the absence. As a result, the child may feel fear, confusion or frustration. Perhaps relapse into behaviors overtaken as the bed wetting or thumb sucking. They can be sad, withdrawn, or even more sticky than usual. Some children may begin to kicking, biting, or shout out to the father in charge or to other children, family members or people in their lives. (McFarlane 2009)

Anticipate the changes in the behavior, but reinforce the usual discipline strategies. Give him extra love and attention and keep routines and schedules normal as much as possible. If he kicks, bites or screams, tell with firmness that such behavior is not acceptable. Enforce the discipline in a way that is consistent, fair and appropriate for the age. Some examples of appropriate discipline for young children are personal isolation during the same number of minutes that the age, or temporarily remove a favorite toy. (Flake 2009)

Preschool-age children are old enough to feel daily the absence of a parent but are often too young to understand the reason. Some may even feel that you did something that the father or mother will leave. In these moments, the child may display challenging behaviors such as more frequent temper tantrums, refusing to talk to the father or mother present or misbehave. (Flake 2009)

Offer healthy ways to express feelings such as coloring, drawing and other manual work. Explain that you are surprisingly well to the other parent and respect their feelings of confusion, fear and even anger. Let her know that hurt physically or verbally to another is not acceptable, even if you feel strong emotions. Do not force a child to talk with the father or mother absent. Offer other ways to communicate, how to record a video or audio messages. You can even help you write a letter or draw. (McFarlane 2009)

The majority of these children are mature enough to understand in basic form the deployment and many feel pride in having the father or the mother in the armed forces. For your greater maturity, the children of school age are susceptible to feel the same stress that the other adult during the deployment. This includes worry about the security of the absent parent. Stress can cause headaches, stomach, moodiness, disrupted sleep, irritability, or low energy. (Flake 2009)

Even if the child spent periods in that it is difficult to go to school, participate in extracurricular activities and even perform tasks of daily life, remains important to keep the expectations and responsibilities. Talk with your child about what you feel and don’t be afraid to share their own feelings. Keep and share a positive attitude with regard to the safety and well-being of father or mother deployed and the resilience of his family. (Flake 2009)

The situation in the US military offers a vastly different picture to that of other countries where there are already being implemented in large enterprises, measures and proposals to facilitate the reconciliation of all the aspects that make up the life of the people (men and women). (Change 2002; Lincoln 2008)

In order to achieve a balance, your personal interests must be in harmony with your labor needs. It is important that you do not compare yourself to others, because each person has his own way to achieve such stability. Develop your own system of organization of the time, that you leave room for the important things and helps you avoid the stress. The secret to not reach moments of crisis is having a daily routine of self-care. (Shanafelt 2012)

It is important to protect your relationships with those closest to you. It is common as a freelancer that privacy may be relegated to the background with regard to the race. But in reality are the family and friends who offer us the safety net that we need. If we do not provide them the attention they deserve then this may lead to conflict, which in turn will affect our work. (Shanafelt 2012)

As far as coping with the military work itself, there are some important things to know in regards to making it easier to get through the work day.

Working all day sitting in front of a screen affects your eyes, neck and back. Sports – for example running, swimming or the Zumba – help you to burn energy, strengthen the muscles and release the mind. You can also get many benefits by practicing relaxing activities, such as yoga. The most difficult part will be probably overcome your own laziness, for this you can help with a program of coaching – digital or offline. This is also beneficial to those military personal engaging in more physical duties such as field work. (Shanafelt 2012)

The majority of professionals and entrepreneurs aspire to achieve a balance between work and life. Living a balanced life is the key to improving your labor productivity. But not only that, it is also key to enjoy peace of mind and don’t lose your family life. Achieving this balance is not easy when you are experiencing in your work days frantic, lives rapidly and you have to divide your attention and to take care of several things at once. In spite of this, achieving that balance is in your hands. No matter where or in which you work; the choice of how to manage your day is always yours. It is in your hands change your daily routine. The goal is to decrease the negative effects of a crippling and avoid working with the passing years without that to enjoy life. It’s about being able to screen the things that you commit yourself to. Reduce and choose your commitments helps to decrease the sensation of saturation. (Shanafelt 2012)

In conclusion, this article concept is highly recommended to be published. It would make for a strong story of what our military troops face in deployment and would benefit them so that future military personnel can be fully aware of what it takes to join the armed forces. This would also be helpful for families of military personnel to know how to cope with the stress of a loved one being on deployment with the military. The parents would have a better understanding of how deployment can have an impact on their children and how to cope with it. Although it will never be easy for any family to have to go through being separated from their family for an extended period of time, there are ways to ease the inevitable pain that comes with it. Achieving a healthy work-life balance is an important thing for the military personal sent out on deployment and they as well as their families need to be aware of how to handle such a stressful situation for an extended period of time. With the concept of this article being published, the research information can be relayed to these military families so that they can be aware that there is help out there for them as they do not need to handle military deployment alone.

References

Change, C. M. (2002). Beyond work-family balance: Advancing gender equity and workplace performance.

Cozza, C. S. J., Chun, C. R. S., & Polo, C. J. A. (2005). Military families and children during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Psychiatric quarterly, 76(4), 371-378.

Flake, E. M., Davis, B. E., Johnson, P. L., & Middleton, L. S. (2009). The psychosocial effects of deployment on military children. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 30(4), 271-278.

Lincoln, A., Swift, E., &Shorteno-Fraser, M. (2008). Psychological adjustment and treatment of children and families with parents deployed in military combat.Journal of clinical psychology, 64(8), 984-992.

McFarlane, A. C. (2009). Military deployment: the impact on children and family adjustment and the need for care. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 22(4), 369-373.

Shanafelt, T. D., Boone, S., Tan, L., Dyrbye, L. N., Sotile, W., Satele, D., … &Oreskovich, M. R. (2012). Burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance among US physicians relative to the general US population. Archives of internal medicine, 172(18), 1377-1385.

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