A direct measure of morale in the Royal Netherlands Armed Forces Morale survey : ‘Theoretical puzzle, emperical testing and validation’

The psychological stresses on military personnel and units of the Netherlands’ Armed Forces are enormous due to the types of conflict which military personnel is involved in, the use of modern technology and the high pace of operations. High morale is a determinant of sustained effective performance and vitally important in keeping stress casualties minimal. It is this importance that led to a renewed interest in morale and revision of the Netherlands’ Armed Forces Morale Survey. Until 2006 morale was measured indirectly by measuring the determinants of morale, with morale as a hypothetical construct. The focus of the current study is the development of a direct measure of morale and integration in the Netherlands’ Armed Forces Morale Survey. Work engagement, with its core dimensions dedication and vigor and burnout, with its core dimensions cynicism and emotional exhaustion are used as indicators of respectively a high and low morale. The direct measure of morale was empirically tested by units in Afghanistan under operational conditions. Correlations and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data. The results are a confirmation of the development of the direct measure of a high morale with the core dimensions of work engagement. The direct measure of a low morale with the core dimensions of burnout is promising but needs further investigation to test the validity. The results are of great value because through further research it is now possible to determine the relative importance of the determinants of morale. Even more important is that in future morale surveys the direct measure of morale and the knowledge of the relative importance of the determinants of morale will better help military psychologists in advising commanders how to improve morale so that it will function as a force multiplier. Keywords: morale; work engagement; burnou