Impacts of COVID-19 on well-being during deployment and the role of leadership

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges, adding or compounding the effects of many existing stressors that military personnel face during deployment. While these stressors can negatively impact individual and organizational outcomes by worsening well-being and performance, research suggests that subordinates’ trust in leadership may help improve these outcomes and mitigate the negative effects of these stressors. Methods: The present study examined the effects of COVID-19-, deployment-, and family-related concerns on the morale, psychological distress, occupational performance, and levels of job stress experienced by Canadian Armed Forces personnel deployed on international operations (n = 256) and the moderating role of trust in leadership in these relationships. Results: Moderated linear and logistic regressions revealed that deployment-related concerns emerged as the primary driver of poor outcomes (higher levels of job stress and psychological distress, lower morale), although none of the concerns were related to greater self-perceived occupational impairment. By contrast, greater trust in leadership was associated with better well-being outcomes and a lower likelihood of occupational impairment. However, trust in leadership did not moderate the association between concerns and outcomes. Discussion: These findings highlight that deployment-related concerns are a salient driver of diminished well-being. Further, while trust in leadership did not moderate these relationships, it directly predicted all well-being and performance outcomes, highlighting its critical role in supporting well-being independent of reported level of concerns.