Everyday I have no Control

Military members have a distinctive work environment, wherestatus within the hierarchy is clearly displayed on uniform dressand lower ranks are to dutifully obey the commands from above. Theaim of this study was to explore the issues related to job controlfor military members. Perceived job control has been associatedwith individual health and productivity; however, until now has notbeen explored in the military context. The findings from thisoriginal research found important workplace factors to influencethe perception of job control, which stem from three related areas:workplace characteristics, support, and individual characteristics.These findings argue for the implementation of policies andpractice to improve health and performance in the workplace andmust focus on several aspects of work design to includeopportunities for employee support in and beyond the workplace,effective leadership practices, and the facilitation of appropriatecoping skills for performance in the military environment. Thesefindings may have implications for similar work settings such as:law enforcement, emergency responders, factory workers, and somegovernment agencies.