Job satisfaction among United States Navy and Marine Corps Aviation Officers - a study of the impact on career retention

Abstract

United States Naval Aviation Officer retention has been identified by senior-level personnel managers as one of the largest challenges faced by the services in recent years. In robust economic times all branches of the armed forces face the challenge of retaining sufficient highly-trained volunteers. The aviation community is disproportionately affected due to the long lead time associated with aviation officer training and the potential for long-term lucrative civilian job opportunities compared with existing military pay and benefits. This study documents the development of a retention survey aimed to quantify Naval aviation officer attitudes towards job satisfaction and turnover intent. Previous research has indicated that measurements of job satisfaction are the most reliable predictor of one's intent to remain with an existing employer. To best understand this relationship, CART and logistic regression models are proposed to predict Naval aviation officer retention These model were developed using a principal components analysis of survey data elements. Work satisfaction and age were analyzed in terms of their impact as moderators of the relationship between job satisfaction and retention. Work Satisfaction factors were found to be significant in models that predicted turnover intent half again better than if one was to merely provide a sample estimate.