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Factors Affecting Work Motivation of Permanent Commissioned Officers in

the Indian Army

Article · March 2018

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 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

Factors Affecting Work Motivation of Permanent

Commissioned Officers in the Indian Army

Vaibhav Walia,
Third Year BBA Student, Department of Management Studies,
CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India
Dr. Balu L,
Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies,
CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India

Abstract
High attractiveness of the private sector, less comparable pay, high occupational stress and tough working conditions
are some of the factor that dissuade the youth to join the Indian Armed Forces leading to an acute shortage of manpower
particularly in the officer cadre. The forces are lacking in both ends of the officer cadre – highly experienced as well as
fresh recruits. This paper aims to find and rank the factors that impact work motivation of officers in the Indian Army
and their decision to continue serving post 20 years of compulsory service. It also outlines the most influential factors of
work motivation and how these can be utilised to retain experienced officers and also to attract youngsters to take up the
profession in order to solve the existing manpower crisis. For the purpose of the research, primary data was collected
from serving army officers having more than 20 years of service using stratified random sampling method through
questionnaires.

Key Words: Work Motivation, Job Satisfaction, Indian Army, Permanent Commissioned Officers

Introduction
Tough working conditions, the imbalance in family life, occupational stress and low comparable pay are
major factors in making the career in the Indian Army “an unattractive” one for the youth. The ambiguity of
not receiving the amount of salary as a corporate job is also a factor in getting more individuals in the army.
This would have a detrimental effect on the war capabilities of the country as well weaken its military
position. With increasing political pressure, not only from Pakistan but also from China added to deployment
of personnel in naxal-affected areas, the manpower crisis faced by the Army will have a major impact in the
future of the services as well as the peace keeping regard of the Army.
The army itself is deficient of 7764 officers among Lieutenant Colonels, Majors, Captains and
Lieutenants. The old campaigns of attracting the youth to the army are not helping them and it is always a
difficult task to get the best people to join the army. There is an evident need to initiate suitable measures in
order to enhance retention and utilization of the manpower. It is also essential that the army is able to retain its
highly experienced permanent commissioned employees who have completed 20 years of compulsory service.
In recent times due to varying reason officers have opted to move into the corporate world after completion of
this term. These results in knowledge drain for the army and also add to the existing manpower crisis.
In the current corporate environment there are a lot of shortcomings that organisations are facing,
such as, skill shortage, talent crunch and attrition which are growing at an alarming rate. Every company is
trying to devise their own innovative HR practises to attract the best talent and retain them by providing a
conducive environment to be in. These practices help in retention and attraction as it makes the employees
feel good about the organisation and add value to the organisation.

Review of Literature
Narang, G. S. (2016) This research was conduct to study the best human resource management techniques
existing in the private sector and to try and adopt and compare them to the existing practices in the Indian
armed forces in order to induce and attract youngsters to opt for the forces as a profession. Data to identify

92 Vaibhav Walia, Dr. Balu L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

the best practices in the private sector was taken from 35 leading firms across different sectors like
Information Technology (IT), banking, power, communication, manufacturing, steel and exploration using
personal interviews and discussions. In total 240 respondents were used in the survey who answered a
questionnaire consisting of 30 questions using the Likert rating scale. The data collected has been analysed
using SPSS and Spearman’s Rank Correlation, One-way Anova test and Chi-square tests were used to get the
desired results. A total of 15 best practices from the corporate sector were identified which can be of relevance
in the armed forces and if implemented will have a positive impact on the morale and satisfaction of the
officers as well as help in attracting and retaining talent. A board from all the three forces (Air Force, Army
and Navy) was set up to study and phase-wise implement the identified practices.
Mihaela, C., & Marian, L. (2016) The study conducted on the officers in the Romanian Army
analyses and studies the various factors that affect work motivation of serving officers in the Romanian Army.
80 serving Romanian army officers were selected as the sample size to conduct the data. An open
questionnaire was used for the same and in order to process the data a specialized software called Atlas.ti is
used for analysis with descriptive statistics, charts, tables etc. The results identified a total of five factors that
led to increased motivation among the officers and nine which had a detrimental effect on the work
motivation. A hierarchy was established based on the occurrence of these factors in the responses gathered
from the selected sample. Work characteristics, Workplace environment, Merit Recognition, Career
Advancement and Personal Development and Remuneration and Material Rewards were identified as factors
that lead to increased motivation in the army officers.
Lutz, A. (2008) This article studies the historical participation of the soldiers coming from various
racial ethnic groups. It states the proportion of soldiers who have belonged to these ethnic groups, tribes,
minorities and varying socio-economic status. It also looks at the likelihood of the persons belonging to these
groups to be selected in the armed forces of the country. Various regions of the country boast a rich history of
soldiers joining from the particular area whereas there are other areas with very insignificant numbers. The
paper also studies the possible reasons for this disproportion and provides solutions for better handling of
soldiers and officers coming from ethnically diverse parts of the country. It also suggests various methods to
increase the participation of people from these areas and to spread awareness to attract people to join the
forces. The study has been conducted using secondary sources of data.
Sharma, S. (2015)The paper attempts to study the factors that influence occupational stress faced by
the soldiers in the Indian Army. It studies only organisation-based elements of stress which lead to decreased
performance and affect the well-being of the soldiers. 415 soldiers were interviewed to collect the data which
facilitated the study. Exploratory Factor analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) have been
used have been used to analyse and highlight the major contributors to occupational stress among the soldiers.
Ineffective leadership, unsupportive colleagues, insufficient training, indifferent attitude, lack of role clarity,
decision -making power, workload pressure, inadequate skills and lack of control were identified as the major
factors that lead to occupational stress amongst the soldiers in the Indian Army. Recommendations include
inclusion of techniques of Sahaja Yoga meditation and adopting a commitment-driven management approach
in the armed forces that would lead to efficient stress management and increased job satisfaction.
Kamwal, G (2010) The paper studies India’s strategic environment, costs of maintaining manpower
and forces and emerging trend in international force levels. In depth analysis of neighbouring countries of
Pakistan, Afghanistan and China is provided to understand defence mechanism and future needs. It is
imperative in the modern day to come up with innovative solutions to meet the requirements of defence and
reduce manpower costs in relation to India’s strategic situation. The paper also provides innovative solution to
cut down costs of recruitment, training and maintenance as well to establish a more efficient relationship
between technology and defence requirements. It also explores alternatives like larger units of Territorial
Army, reducing logistical intake and out-sourcing of logistical support which would lead to more efficiency in
maintain the defence forces as well solving the manpower crisis.
Morris, A., Shinn, M., &DuMont, K. (1999) This article talks about factors affecting commitment of
police officers. The study examined 372 police officers in New York. To study this they used variables that
were formed by aggregating officer’s views of management support and fairness as well as management’s

93 Vaibhav Walia, Dr. Balu L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

sensitivity to a diverse workforce of three different sub groups with different ethnicity and gender. After using
hierarchical linear modelling the results showed that there was direct causal relationship between
managements support and fairness, and, officer’s organizational commitment. The article lays emphasis on
how women and minority men in New York at the time experienced negative social interactions and
managements support and fairness was a key factor in keeping employees commitment. Other important
predictors of commitment were support from co-workers and family support. For women especially the family
support factor is of utmost priority.
John (2012), the author is testing what the implications of incentivizing professional pay in the Army
Acquisition Corps are. He first tested whether or not professional pay will reduce the number of officers at the
20 year point. After which the author checked on whether or not professional pay would keep the officers past
their retirement age. There was a comparison done between the USAF (USA Air force) and the AAC too. The
author had a sample size ranging from different classes of officers which amounted to a sample size of greater
than 1000. A highly descriptive survey was used to test the hypotheses. After which an overall analysis of the
survey was carried out. The findings suggest that the professional pay should not be incentivized as there is
too many Corps under the AAC only. The question was why the job at the AAC was not considered
professional such as doctors and engineers etc. The findings suggested that it is not advisable to incentivize
professional pay because there are already various other forms of payment that the AAC officers receive that
compensates for professional pay.
Abubakar (2015) This study was conducted to study the importance of personal development in
officers in the Nigerian Army and how effective a role it plays in career management of officers once they
retire and have to reintegrate into civilian society. The sample size in this study varied from serving to retired
officers, from the rank of captain to major generals. An SES (Socio Economic Status) model was used in the
study to measure work experience using income, education, occupation and etc. The study proposes that
personal development through entrepreneurship education can enhance reintegration into the civilian lifestyle.
It has been suggested that the most important tool for career development is personal development of the
individual. There exists a lack of academic training which is most essential for an officer to start a second
career once their tenure is over and the study shows how the Nigerian army for Career Management prefers
training at the professional level. The study concludes that there are ways to overcome this by reviewing
administrative policies such that it benefits both personnel and the military institution.
Snodgrass (2014), the following journal was conducted on the US Navy and their ever increasing retention
crisis. The journal gives an insight into a growing economy and the deterioration of trust in senior officer’s
leadership, which leads to one of the most significant retention crisis of the Navy as the senior officer’s with
over decades of war time experience is now retiring. This causes future uncertainty for the junior officers of
the navy as they have no quality leaders and are now in a position where they no longer want to be serving
and cannot retire, as they are junior officers who have not completed their tenure. One of the major causes for
such a retention crisis is the fluctuation of the budget. Now, recently the US Navy has developed strategies to
tackle the retention crisis coupled with an increased budget and stability within their environment. The US
Navy was able to identify how to tackle their retention crisis through communication and various other policy
changes.
Densten (2003), in this research is testing the effect of the leadership in the top ranks. This study is
conducted in the Australian police organisation. The author is able to use a sample size of 480senior police
officers. The frequency of the leadership behaviours was recorded through Multifactor Leadership
Questionnaire. Regression analysis was used to predict the outcomes of the leadership effectiveness and SST
(Stratified System Theory) were used in order to explore why different ranks had unique predictors. It was
founded that each senior officers had unique leadership behaviours which influences the perception of leader
effectiveness and motivation for extra effort. The study is also able to discuss the relationship between a
senior officer’s leadership behaviour and the leadership expectations of the junior officers within each rank.
Such expectations of the officers within the rank influence the perception about their leader’s behaviour.

94 Vaibhav Walia, Dr. Balu L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the proposed research are as follows:
1. To determine the strongest, most influential factor in motivating officers to continue serving in the forces
post completion of 20 years of service, and the least influential factor for the same.
2. To recommend solutions to motivate officers to continue serving in the Indian Army post 20 years of
service and to attract youngsters to join the Indian Army.

Hypothesis
H0: All factors motivating officers to continue service in the Indian Army post 20 years of compulsory
service have an equal influence on their decision.
H1: All factors motivating officers to continue service in the Indian Army post 20 years of compulsory
service have an unequal influence on their decision and the most and least influential factors can be identified.

Population: The population universe consists of permanent commissioned officers in the Indian Army who
continue to serve after completing compulsory service of 20 years

Sample Size: A questionnaire was sent to a sample of 50 officers out of which 3 were rejected and 47 have
been considered.

Sampling Method: Stratified Random Sampling has been used to choose the sample.

Data Collection Tool: Data was collected through a questionnaire consisting of 25 questions to be answered
on a Likert scale.

Scope of the study

This study is limited to permanent commissioned officers who continue to serve after completing compulsory
service of 20 years. It does not include female officers, short-service commissioned officers and officers who
retire post 20 years of service.

Limitations of the Study

One of the major limitations of the study is the unwillingness of army personnel to supply data due to the
confidentiality concerns attached with their work. For this reason, no demographic data has been collected and
the responses may not be completely accurate. Furthermore, the limitation of time has also been a constraint in
conducting the study. A larger sample size may result in more reliable results.

Results:
For the purpose of analysis, a multiple regression analysis is used to find how the independent variables
collectively influence the dependent variable, to check if the dependent variable differs significantly with the
independent variables, to assign ranks to the independent variables based on the degree to which they
influence the dependent variable and to establish the regression equation. This analysis is conducted using
SPSS and MS Excel.
It was observed that the variables show a significant correlation. All the independent variables- Work
Characteristics, Work Environment, Personal Development & Career Advancement, Merit Recognition, and
Remuneration& Material Rewards - are significantly correlated with the dependent variable – Job Satisfaction
amongst permanent commissioned officer in the Indian Army (P<0.01).

95 Vaibhav Walia, Dr. Balu L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

Table 4.1
Model Summary
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate
a
1 .744 .554 .511 .72811
a. Predictors: (Constant), Remuneration& Material Rewards, Work Characteristics, Personal Development &
Career Advancement, Work Environment
Source: Source: Multiple Regression on SPSS
The R Square value is 0.554 or 55.4%. This shows that all the independent variables- Work Characteristics,
Work Environment, Personal Development & Career Advancement, Merit Recognition, and Remuneration&
Material Rewards - together account for 55.4% of the change in the dependent variable- Job Satisfaction
amongst permanent commissioned officer in the Indian Army.
Table 4.2
a
ANOVA
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1 Regression 27.606 4 6.902 13.018 .000b
Residual 22.266 42 .530
Total 49.872 46
a. Dependent Variable: Recommendation
b. Predictors: (Constant), Remuneration& Material Rewards, Work Characteristics, Career and Personal
Development & Career Advancement, Work Environment
Source: Source: Multiple Regression on SPSS
Table 4.2 suggests that a change in the independent variables contributes significantly to a change in the
dependent variable since the P-value is lesser than 0.05.
Table 4.3
a
Coefficients
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.
Coefficients Coefficients
B Std. Error Beta
1 (Constant) .067 .754 2.124 .038
Work Characteristics .125 .210 .083 4.103 .043
Work Environment .950 .230 .662 4.124 .049
Personal Development & Career .249 .183 .208 1.324 .017
Advancement
Remuneration& Material Rewards .042 .167 .032 1.349 .029
a. Dependent Variable: Recommendation
Source: Multiple Regressions on SPSS
From the above table, the following regression equations can be established:
Job Satisfaction Score= .067+ 0.125 Work Characteristics + 0.950 Work Environment + 0.249 Personal
Development & Career Advancement + 0.042 Remuneration& Material Rewards. Based on the above
analysis, it can be concluded that the alternative hypothesis H1 is accepted i.e. all factors motivating officers
to continue service in the Indian Army post 20 years of compulsory service have an unequal influence on their
job satisfaction and a hierarchy can be established to understand the level of this influence. Null Hypothesis
stands rejected.

96 Vaibhav Walia, Dr. Balu L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

Findings and Recommendations

Analysis shows that the independent variables- Work Characteristics, Work Environment, Personal
Development & Career Advancement, Merit Recognition, and Remuneration& Material Rewards - together
account for 55.4% of the change in the dependent variable- Job Satisfaction amongst permanent
commissioned officer in the Indian Army which was shown by the r-square value of 0.554. The ANOVA test
confirmed that a change in the independent variables contributes significantly to a change in the dependent
variable since the P-value was lesser than 0.05. Based on the Beta Values in the Coefficients table, the
independent variables can be ranked based on degree of influence they have on the dependent variable:
Rank 1: Work Environment
Rank 2: Personal Development & Career Advancement
Rank 3: Work Characteristics
Rank 4: Remuneration& Material Rewards
Some recommendations and suggestions to the Indian Army in order to enhance motivation of serving army
officers are:
Carefully analyse and work on the aforementioned factors as they have been found to have a
significant impact on the motivation of the officers to continue serving in the forces even after 20 years of
compulsory service.
By emphasising on these factors the army would be able to successfully retain highly experienced
officers (more than 20 years of service) whoare crucial as they possess high degree of experience and
knowledge which is of high importance to the nation. When officers decide to leave the Army after 20 years it
results in knowledge and experience drain for the organisation.
Well planned awareness and advertisement campaigns which highlight these important factors of
motivation should be initiated by the Army to induce the youngsters to take up the forces as a profession thus
helping to solve the manpower crisis currently faced by the Indian Army.
High level of satisfaction among senior officers in the Army would lead to them encouraging more
and more youngsters to join the profession.
Remuneration, material rewards and merit recognition are factors which the organisation should
analyse as there is a lot of scope for improvement in these aspects and are crucial determinants of job
satisfaction.

Conclusion
The study proves that all factors motivating officers to continue service in the Indian Army post 20 years of
compulsory service have an unequal influence on their job satisfaction and a hierarchy can be established to
understand the level of this influence. Using this hierarchy the Indian Army can concentrate on those factors
which have a major impact on the work motivation of officers and their decision to continue service beyond
20 years. The factors having detrimental or little effect can be worked upon and improved to provide more
satisfaction. Furthermore, emphasis is needed upon practices to retain experienced officers as well to induce
youngsters to join the Indian Army to help solve the manpower crisis.

References
 Kanwal, G. (2010). Salient Issues Affecting Defence Manpower in India. Journal of Defence Studies.
 Narang, G. S. (2016). Relevance of Best Human Resource Practices for the Armed Forces. Arabian Journal of
Business and ar A.
 Sharma, S. (2015). Occupational stress in the armed forces : An Indian Army perspective. IIMB Management
Review.
 Lutz, A. (2008). Who joins the military? A look at race, class, and immigration status. Journal of Political and
Military Sociology.

97 Vaibhav Walia, Dr. Balu L

 International Journal of Innovations & Advancement in Computer Science
IJIACS
ISSN 2347 – 8616
Volume 7, Issue 3
March 2018

 Mihaela, C., & Marian, L. (2016). FACTORS AFFECTING THE WORK MOTIVATION OF OFFICERS IN THE
ROMANIAN ARMY.
 Lemondes, J. (2012, April). Supply Chain Management/Strategic Acquisition: The Case for Professional Pay in the
Army Acquisition Corps. Defense AR Journal ; Fort Belvoir, 19(2), 209-250.
 Morris, A., Shinn, M., & DuMont, K. (1999, Feburary). Contextual Factors affecting the organizational commitment
of diverse police officers: A levels of analysis perspective. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27(1), 75-
105.
 Swati Mukherjee, U. K. (2009). Status of Military Psychology in India: A Review. Journal of the Indian Academy of
Applied Sciences.
 Taneja, V. (2015, January 28). Strategic Manpower Planning in the Armed Forces. Centre for Land Studies.

98 Vaibhav Walia, Dr. Balu L

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