Samenvatting

Results of this survey indicate that there is a great degree of interaction between military and civilian personnel
in defence organisations. In particular, approximately 90% of civilian personnel indicated that there are military
personnel in their workplace, and similar percentages of military personnel indicated that there are civilian
personnel in their workplace. In addition, approximately 80% or more of military personnel reported interacting
with civilian co-workers on a daily basis, and an even greater proportion of civilians indicated interacting with
military co-workers on a daily basis. Further, it is important to note that a third or more of civilians indicated that
their direct supervisor was military. The proportion of military personnel supervised by civilians varied a great
deal, but was not uncommon in most nations. These findings highlight the high degree of integration between
military and civilians in defence organisations across most nations.
The self-report survey results presented in this chapter indicate that military and civilian co-workers have
positive inter-group relations at the personnel level. That is, civilian personnel are viewed as being both
necessary and important to the success of the defence organisation, both from their own perspective and from
that of their military counterparts, and both civilian and military personnel indicated high quality relations, and
good communication and perceptions of mutual workplace respect.
However, some areas that could potentially be improved were noted at the supervisory and organisational levels.
Of note, many civilians noted negative effects on their work specifically stemming from working in a military
context. In particular, many civilian employees across nations indicated that working in a military context has
deleterious effects on their career progression and training opportunities, and that their work is disrupted as a
result of the military rotational cycle. Moreover, supervision of civilian personnel by military managers (and vice
versa, although this occurs much less frequently) was also noted as an area that generally requires improvement.
For example, civilian personnel indicated that supervision by military managers and supervisors (and vice versa)
may be problematic in that they often do not appreciate their conditions of employment or terms of service and
their personnel appraisal systems. They also indicated that military supervisors may not fully appreciate the roles
of civilian personnel or fully capitalize on their skills and abilities.