Time use during the military-civilian transition: exploring concepts of occupational disruption, transition and balance
Abstract: Introduction: Military-civilian transition (MCT) refers broadly to the process of leaving military employment and becoming re-established in the civilian world. The cultural differences between military and civilian spheres can create challenges for veterans as they make this transition. Objectives: To explore the time use and experiences of Canadian Armed Forces members as they progressed through their release from the military. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted at two time points with the same participant group (T1 – within 6 months of release date and T2 – 6 to 12 months after the release date) as part of a larger qualitative MCT study. For this study, a secondary analysis of previously coded time use data was conducted using the software program MAXQDA to support our process. We framed our analysis using three theoretical lenses related to time use and MCT: occupational disruption, occupational transition, and occupational balance. Results: Data from 75 English-speaking participants at T1 and 68 at T2 were included. Many participants demonstrated experiences of occupational disruption due to health limitations, occupational transition through changes in time use after leaving a highly structured career and seeking occupational balance, including meaningful time use with those who were important to them. There were diverse experiences across the participant group. Conclusions: This study is the first to explore the time use experiences of Canadian military members and veterans during MCT. It identified challenges in filling time after leaving a highly structured career, with health limitations impacting time use options. Participants worked to balance demands of home and family, while valuing having discretionary time and spending it in meaningful occupations.