An exploration of the changes to occupational participation during military‐to‐civilian transition: The experiences of Australian Defence Force members

Abstract

Introduction

The transition from military‐to‐civilian life is associated with challenges including shifts in identity and employment, reestablishment of family and personal relationships, and financial hardship. To better support transition, it is important to explore the perspectives of those who have transitioned from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) into civilian life. Thus, the study aims to explore how occupational participation during military service influences the experience of transitioning to civilian life.

Methods

A narrative inquiry methodology with two phases of interviews was used to collect data from 12 former serving Australian Defence Force members. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data.

Consumer and community involvement

The first author is a former ADF member. The second interview was intended to check and enhance participant participation in the study. There was no further consumer and community involvement.

Findings

Two themes were developed. (1) Being in the ‘bubble’ described how occupational participation is experienced in military service. The military bubble created occupational imbalance and was heavily reliant on work and devoid of leisure. (2) ‘The bubble pops and the real‐world begins’ describes how the loss of the military occupations including peers and the collective culture, challenged their occupational participation in civilian life. Most participants sought to establish occupational balance, to varying degrees of success.

Conclusion

Imbalanced occupational participation during military service can hinder the transition to civilian life. Supporting this shift requires strategies that promote engagement in community and leisure activities. Future research should focus on how to support occupational participation in civilian roles and activities to facilitate smoother transitions.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY

The transition from military‐to‐civilian life can be difficult. In this study, we looked at how people leaving the Australian Defence Force (ADF) adjust to civilian life, especially in terms of the activities they do every day—called ‘occupational participation’. In the past, most research has focused on physical and mental health during this transition. However, we explored how the types of activities people do while serving in the military affect their ability to adjust after leaving. Researchers interviewed 12 former ADF members in two rounds to hear their stories. The first author is also a former ADF member, which helped build trust with participants. The interviews were analysed to find common themes. Two main ideas came out of the study. First, life in the military is like being inside a ‘bubble’—a structured environment focused mostly on work, with little time for leisure or personal interests. Second, when the ‘bubble pops’ after leaving the military, people often lose not just their jobs but also their social connections and sense of purpose. This makes it hard to find meaningful activities in civilian life. We found that this imbalance in activities during military service can make the transition harder. To help, strategies should encourage people to stay involved in community and leisure activities, even while serving. Future research should look at how to help former service members build skills and confidence in civilian roles. Our findings can help occupational therapists support veterans in finding meaningful and balanced lives after military service.

Key Points for Occupational Therapy.

• Occupational participation in military service shapes transition, simultaneously creating occupational imbalances that challenge transition while offering bonds to enable it.

• A lack of participation in personally meaningful occupations during service, and the cessation of participation in military occupations after service, lead to a decreased sense of competence in civilian life.

• Interventions that address a loss of occupational participation and the impacts of occupational imbalance, and those that identify individual meaning that establishes a plan to promote individuality, may improve the military‐to‐civilian transition experience.

1. INTRODUCTION

The transition from military‐to‐civilian life is associated with challenges including identity and employment, establishing meaning and purpose, family and personal relationships, and financial hardship. This can lead to harmful behaviours, including suicide (Danish & Antonides, 2013; Gordon et al., 2020; Kleykamp et al., 2021; Mobbs & Bonanno, 2018; Morin, 2011; Orazem et al., 2017; Ravindran et al., 2020; Shue et al., 2021). Indeed, Australian researchers have acknowledged the challenges that can be faced in transition exploring the experiences of the Australian military population (Carra et al., 2021, 2023a, 2023b; Department of Veterans' Affairs & Department of Defence [DVA & DOD], 2018; Kerr et al., 2023a, 2023b; McIntyre et al., 2023; Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide [RCDVS], 2024; Van Hooff et al., 2018). These authors suggest that the decline in health and well‐being among the Australian military population following transition relates to a variety of challenges: identity, employment, establishing meaning and purpose, family and personal relationships, and separation type. More specifically, the occupational lens on the transition experience has allowed a greater focus on the meaning derived from occupational participation or ‘doing’ (Carra et al., 2021, 2023a, 2023b; Kerr et al., 2023a, 2023b). Within the paper, occupational participation is defined as ‘having access to, initiating, and sustaining valued occupations within meaningful relationships and contexts’ (Egan & Restall, 2022, p. 76). This shift in focus to participation provides opportunities for occupational therapy research to inform ways to better support transition for the Australian military population.

A survey of 198 former members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Carra et al. (2021, 2023a) found an easier adjustment during transition was associated with participation in employment‐related, domestic, voluntary work and care activities, and social and community interaction. Improved physical health for veterans was associated with participation in employment‐related and sport and outdoor activities, and social community interactions. Additionally, better mental health was associated with employment‐related activities. These findings were supported by interviews with 10 former ADF members through which Carra et al. (2023b) found that a discontinuation between the type and meaning of occupations completed before and after service shaped the participants' transition experience.

From interviews with 12 ADF members, Kerr et al. (2023a, 2023b) found the transition to civilian life was shaped by age and life experience at the time of joining, participants' service experience, and the type of separation and access to peers that shaped transition. These authors described how the relationship between participation in military training, roles and culture, and the development of a military identity impacts on transition to civilian life. These researchers emphasise the potential value of occupation‐based transition programmes and occupational therapy in restoring confidence, competence, and personal agency (Carra et al., 2021, 2023a, 2023b; Kerr et al., 2020, 2023a, 2023b). These findings align with earlier US research highlighting similar benefits (Cogan, 2015; Erickson, 2008; Rodger et al., 2014). Thus, to advance Australian transition research, the researchers explored how service in the ADF impacts occupational participation and consequently challenges and shapes occupational participation in civilian transition.

2. METHODS

The data for this paper came from a broader study that explored the experiences of ADF members separation from service to civilian life. In that study, we used a narrative inquiry methodology to explore the experience of transition from military service to civilian life as it provides ‘a way of understanding experience’ (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 20). This methodology enabled the former serving ADF community to share their transition narratives and acknowledged the community's preference to storytelling over closed questioning (Ringler et al., 2015), offering an approach that was culturally sensitive. Using a combination of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and an a priori theme (Alleyne, 2017; Braun & Clarke, 2020) led to the exploration of occupational participation in the military and in the transition into civilian life.

2.1. Ethics

Ethics approval for the study was granted by the Australian Departments of Defence and Veterans' Affairs Human Ethics Research Committee (HREC; 265‐20) and the University of Newcastle HREC (H‐2019‐0446). Consent, privacy, and confidentiality were afforded to all participants. To ensure confidentiality and privacy, participants were allocated a pseudonym, beginning at data collection.

2.2. Reflexivity

Reid et al. (2018) refer to reflexivity as an understanding gained through reflecting on the way in which our particular social positioning influences our values, beliefs, and assumptions. Reflexive analysis was vital in this study as the first author had experienced military‐to‐civilian transition from the ADF. The first author's transition experience guided and enriched data analyses. Ongoing discussion with co‐authors experienced in qualitative research across all phases of the study helped mitigate potential bias and assumptions related to the first author's ADF experiences. This collaborative approach strengthened reflexivity and supported the trustworthiness of the findings through the consistent application of quality assurance criteria throughout the study (Korstjens & Moser, 2018; Krefting, 1991; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

2.3. Sampling and recruitment

To explore the experience of transition from military service to civilian life, purposeful sampling was utilised (Silverman, 2017). To ensure relevant data collection, the inclusion criteria were that potential participants had a minimum of 2 years in the ADF and had separated from full‐time service. Exclusion criteria included a person who served only in Reserve forces, was experiencing a psychological condition not stabilised with treatment, or who resided outside of Australia. The exclusion criteria were established to avoid recruitment of a person who had not experienced full‐time military service and culture, individuals vulnerable to distress from sharing their experiences, or a person not living within the context of Australian society.

The research flyer was distributed by Open Arms (an Ex‐services Support Organisation) advertising the study, commencing recruitment. Interested individuals contacted the first author via email and received a participant information statement and consent form. Following the return of a signed consent form, an eligibility phone call was arranged to commence data collection.

2.4. Data collection

2.4.1. Eligibility call

All data were collected by the first author. Data collection commenced with a phone call to establish eligibility. During this call, data collected included age, service, rank, role/s, and years of service. Eligibility calls ranged from 10 to 30 min, with time variations due to the level of detail provided by the participant. This process resulted in the inclusion of 12 participants (Table 1).

TABLE 1.

Participant demographics.

Pseudonym	Gender	Age joined/separated	Years of service	Time separated	Service	Rank
Carlos	Male	19/37	2001–2020	7 months	Army	E‐4
Dave	Male	19/31	2001–2013	8 years	Army	E‐4
Din	Male	21/28	2003–2009	11 years	Army	E‐3
John	Male	17/25	2006–2013	7 years	Army	E‐4
Kylie	Female	32/48	2005–2020	2 months	Navy	O‐3
Maka	Female	19/25	2002–2008	13 years	Army	E‐4
Marjorie †	Female	19/25	1996–2002	7 years	Army	E‐4
		25/39	2002–2014
Mick	Male	17/22	2003–2009	11 years	Army	E‐3
Naomi	Female	17/31	2007–2020	3 months	Air force	O‐2
Rob	Male	22/28	2001–2007	13 years	Navy	E‐3
Rowan†	Male	17/50	1979–2012	1 year	Air force	W‐5
		52/58	2015–2020
Will†	Male	20/28	2002–2010	8 months	Air force	E‐4
		33/37	2015–2020

Note: Marjorie, Rowan, and Will transitioned twice each from the ADF (marked ^†).

2.4.2. First interview

The data were collected in two rounds of interviews. The first was a narrative interview with eligible participants, conducted to collect their transition story. The first interview was conducted with Zoom (video conferencing platform). This interview asked about the participants' transition from the ADF by asking them the grand tour question (Bhattacharya, 2017): ‘Could you please tell me about your transition from the ADF?’ To ensure rich data collection after the completion of their storytelling, prompting questions were prepared to gather descriptive responses to their transition experience (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts of interviews were reviewed by each participant, offering member checking prior to analysis. Narrative interviews ranged from 55 to 149 min, with a mean length of 109 min. In total, the interviews were 21 h and 54 min. Immediately after each recorded Zoom interview, a verbatim transcript was prepared. It was then deidentified using an allocated pseudonym and the removal of identifiable details and sent to the participant for checking. Once reviewed by the participant, their transcript and interview notes taken were uploaded to NVivo (QSR International), enabling an audit trail.

2.4.3. Second interview

The second interview occurred after initial analysis of the first interview transcripts and field notes. Participants were offered the opportunity to have a telephone interview or to use Zoom. The intent of this interview was to clarify and extend the understanding of the participants' narratives and gain their perspectives about the initial themes. To extend the understanding about their transition experiences, the second interview included questions about changes in occupational participation from military to civilian life: ‘How would you allocate time as a percentage across the activities of your service in the ADF?’ and ‘How would you allocate time as a percentage to activities since separating from the ADF’? The word activities were chosen over occupations in the interviews to avoid pressuring the participants to apply an occupational lens to their experiences. The use of time to explore occupations as a defining feature of human experience offered a representation to explore occupational participation (Christiansen & Townsend, 2010; Harvey & Pentland, 2010) and were estimates of their retrospective participation. This approach afforded the opportunity to explore the meaning enacted and constructed from participants' military service and transition to civilian life (Bonsall, 2012; Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Josephsson & Alsaker, 2015). The second interview was also recorded and offered opportunity for feedback on theme development from each participant and the addition of further details to their experience (Carpenter & Suto, 2008; Daiute, 2014). These interviews ranged from 55 to 176 min, with a mean of 107 min. The total length of interviews took 21 h and 24 min. Data were also collected using field notes and a reflexive diary.

2.5. Thematic analysis

Braun and Clarke's (2006) six phases of thematic analysis were used to analyse the data and notes from the first interviews. This analysis focused on what was said or conveyed and offered the researchers the opportunity to move beyond the interpretation of how a narrative was said (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Following interview two, thematic analysis was also used to analyse the combined data of both interviews and fieldnotes (Holloway & Freshwater, 2007). However, this paper focuses on the findings from the second round of analysis, which also utilised Braun and Clarke's six phases of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). This analysis led to an examination of occupational participation in transition. To explore this, quotes from their transition narratives are presented, followed by their responses to their time‐use.

2.6. Positionality statement

The authors of this paper are experienced occupational therapists and academics. N.K. lives and works on the lands of the Jagera, Yuggera and Ugarapul people. S.A. and R.P. live and work on Awabakal lands. S.L. is an American citizen and lives in Colorado. The authors value the importance of research and evidence‐based practice for improving the occupational therapy profession. We acknowledge and celebrate lived experience and difference and recognise learning and experiences in life contribute to our worldviews. The lead author graduated as an occupational therapist following 9 years' service in the ADF. Their involvement in the ADF and the impact of transition on friends, family and self shaped this research.

3. FINDINGS

The 12 participants' experiences made clear that their occupational participation during their military service shaped the transition to civilian life. Participants indicated that life in the military and its environments shaped occupational participation and this had a significant impact on the transition to civilian life. During the second interviews, all participants agreed their time, focus, and commitment to military roles and occupations had negatively impacted their transition. This commitment to military occupations resulted in a lack of participation in nonmilitary occupations that might have enabled some preparation for civilian life. Of the 12 participants, 11 joined the ADF between the ages of 17 and 22 (Carlos, Dave, Din, John, Maka, Marjorie, Mick, Naomi, Rob, Rowan, and Will). Joining the military at an early age was described as limiting their participation in community activities and led to difficulties during their transition into civilian life. This realisation was only apparent when reflecting on military service and through awareness of their ongoing transition experience. Table 2 presents themes related to the participants' occupational participation shaping their transition to civilian life.

TABLE 2.

Themes—Occupational participation impacting the military to civilian transition.

Themes	Subthemes
The military bubble	Being in the bubble: Occupational participation in military service
	The bubble pops and the real world begins: Occupational participation in civilian life

3.1. The military bubble

The military bubble refers to descriptions of the circumscribed military environment, where military occupations predominate and significantly restrict participation in civilian occupations. While all participants described being in a military bubble, those who served in combat roles, high‐tempo units or those who deployed reported a more extreme sense of being ‘locked‐in’ to the ‘bubble’.

Within the ADF, there was a range of military demands that shaped occupational participation. Naomi shared that her military role limited participation in broader military occupations, placing her in a smaller bubble within the larger ADF bubble:

We were in a bubble. That role [removed for anonymity] is in a bubble in itself. And then you have to bust out and do things that normal, everyday RAAF [Air Force] and Navy and Army had to go and do.

Being in a bubble was considered necessary when establishing and maintaining military roles and peer bonds, and to ensure ADF ‘capability’. Capability is an ADF term defined as how the ADF is capable to conduct operations to defend Australia, protect its interests, and contribute to global coalition operations (Department of Defence [DOD], 2016). Highlighting how the bubble offered a ‘focus’ in military occupations to promote capability, Marjorie shared:

It [being in the ADF] is so much of a bubble without you even thinking … There is no decision making there … All you have to do is focus on your job … You're so in your job … It is the simple things. From the day you join you get a wage … You don't have to think … Your super [superannuation ‐ retirement fund] is organised for you and they [ADF] tell you who it is … If the medical staff can't help you, they will just tell you where to go and you go there. If you don't want to buy a house, they will give you somewhere to live.

Din noted that the bubble enabled the necessary unity to create the bonds for military operations, ‘when you're in that sort of bubble … you're all the same … who you are is the military [ADF]. Like, you are a part of this unit, that is who you are’. He stated that, ‘I lived, breathed, slept, ate, ran, jumped, f‐‐‐‐d [profanity] the military [ADF]. It was everything right up till I left’. This occupational ‘focus’ did not only promote ADF capability but also promoted military bonds that enabled transition with supportive peers. Yet, Din could also identify that this focus on military occupations led to the sacrifice of participating in nonmilitary occupations to enable the transition to civilian life. He shared:

It's not just that I don't have time for civilian friends, its more, that's the sacrifice. Sacrifice, as in dying, is the last sacrifice. The reality is you sacrifice your life, the life you could have led as a civilian. The relationship that you should be nurturing with a partner, you pay no attention to it, you are so locked‐in.

Like Din, Carlos served in a combat, high‐tempo role. He also utilised ‘locked‐in’ to express his ‘focus’ on military occupations, noting the exclusion of occupations to enable his transition to civilian life. He stated:

Most people wouldn't be as locked‐in as I was … in a unit that was high tempo … from there I went to SF [Special Forces], and that's it. I didn't go anywhere else. Very isolated … when you start adding confidentiality and compartments, and things like that, and you get more and more locked into the fact that you can't … have a group of outside friends because they want to know what you did at work that week. Or they want to know where you were last month. Or they want to know, who that was that they saw you with the other day. It doesn't lend itself to having an outside life. So yeah. You're really locked‐in.

Carlos acknowledged that being locked‐in to military occupations failed to prepare him for life after military service. He indicated that his roles and work tempo could not and did not offer him participation in occupations outside the military bubble, noting his lack of social occupations to establish civilian friendships. Being locked‐in discouraged fraternisation with civilians that could offer positive social relationships for civilian life. Carlos reported how being locked‐in related to the concept of the military bubble:

Stuck in the military bubble, doing military tasks. The bubble you're in serves a purpose. Your focus, your skill development is for National security that doesn't translate outside … The same can be said for an Artillery member. Where the hell is that going to be relevant. Anywhere. But they are locked‐in. That is their job … That's what I mean about locked‐in. Focused. It's like a bubble. It doesn't translate to civilian life, in anyway.

For John, he used ‘lifestyle’ to characterise the all‐encompassing effect of participating in military occupations within the bubble, stating ‘It's a lifestyle. I was in a bubble, I was locked‐in. The system encourages that lock‐in. Bubble works because transition begins when the bubble pops’. A lifestyle of military occupations in the bubble implicitly resulted in a lack of participation in civilian occupations in society to enable transition. Over time, this participation in military occupations within the bubble removed participants from society. Mick shared, ‘The longer you're in [the ADF], the further and further outside you are of the rest of society’.

3.1.1. Being in the bubble: Occupational participation in military service

Table 3 presents the participants' estimated time use from the highest to lowest percentage allocated to military activities while in the bubble. The average percentage of time allocated to military activities was 86%, resulting in a 14% average for everything other than military activities.

TABLE 3.

Participant estimated time spent in activities while serving in the military bubble.

Pseudonym	Military			Everything other than military
	Min.	Average	Max.
Marjorie	‐	100%	‐	0%	‐
Mick	95%	‐	99%	1%–5%	Family and friends
Dave	90%	‐	100%	0%–10%	Surfing
Rob	90%	‐	100%	0%–10%	Family
Carlos	80%	‐	100%	0%–20%	Family
Maka	80%	‐	100%	0%–20%	Family and civilian friends
John	‐	87%	‐	13%	Away on leave/family
Rowan	80%	‐	90%	10%–20%	Family
Din	75%	‐	90%	10%–25%	Family and partner
Naomi	70%	‐	80%	20%–30%	Family, friends, and sport
Will	70%	‐	80%	20%–30%	Family, drinking, jazz, and volunteering
Kylie	‐	70%	‐	30%	Family

Note: A dash (‐) represents where data were not reported. Percentages are based on estimates by each participant.

Service in the bubble was weighted to occupations in the domain of work. As such, the most reported nonmilitary occupation in the bubble was family. For Marjorie, she estimated that 100% of her time was spent committed to military activities, only ‘interrupted’ by time with her family:

Probably 100% was military. It was where I slept, it was the roof over my head, it put food in my mouth. It was what I wore to work. It was the jokes I found funny. The TV shows I had to watch … I couldn't phone up in the morning and phone in sick. I still had to go to a med [medical] centre … 100% for me. There was no decision [making]. There was no adultness … The interactions I had with others was only my family [and that] was trying to get them to understand where I was coming from … It was one hundred percent until it (family) interrupted it.

Rob perceived that 90%–100% of his time had been allocated to military activities, stating ‘It all revolves around that. If you don't, you don't succeed … I didn't go to funerals. I didn't go to weddings. I didn't go to dinner with my girlfriend’. Rob highlighted that because of his commitment, he had enabled ADF capability and had a successful career. However, he reflected that his lack of participation in major life events and failure to enable his relationship while in the bubble led to a break‐up shortly after his separation. He felt this break‐up challenged his transition, losing the little support he had for civilian life.

When asked about time use in his military service, Carlos reiterated his experience in the bubble, stating:

That would be damming in my case. I don't think I ever went below 80%. When I wasn't at work, I was thinking about work … If I was doing something with the family, it's because I could squeeze it in. It was always, I've got some spare time between work, what should we do [as a family]. I spent entire years on 24‐hour's notice to move. At no stage could you be more than a few hours from work. You can't drink. To say you were below 80% would be dreaming … I'd say you're at 100% when you are deployed. When you're not away though, and you can go home at night, you still might stay at work to train or complete other tasks, getting home at 6pm. You'd eat at the mess because you were still at work. You get home after the family had dinner. Spend a few hours home to be back at work by 7am … This is part of the bubble. You don't know that's insane compared to most civilian employment. Everyone around you is doing the same, that's how the job works. That's part of the bubble.

Carlos demonstrated that his participation in military occupations during his service left little time each day. As a result, he would ‘squeeze’ his family in. He highlights that his 80–100% allocation to military occupations enabled his work, yet post‐separation this time allocation to civilian employment would be considered ‘insane’.

Similar to Carlos, Rowan shared that time for family was the only disruption to his participation in military occupations:

You lived and breathed it. I was deep in it … It was only disrupted when engaging with the family. Picking up my children. Even playing with my children … I'd say there was one time … a week‐long holiday with the family … where it could have dropped below 80% … I was focused on having a break from the military, not about spending time with the family.

What little time was available for family was reinforced by Kylie, who reported the lowest commitment to participation in military occupations (70%), stating ‘I had barely enough time to give to my family’. Describing her experience, she added, ‘[I had] No hobbies. No civilian friends. No time’.

Reflecting on her military bubble, Naomi estimated that between 70% and 80% of her time was committed to military activities. In the remaining 20%–30%, unlike other participants, Naomi reported participating in sports outside of the ADF, offering her ‘touch points’ with society. She added, ‘Family though, I knew that was lacking. That was the bare minimum’.

Estimating that 90%–100% of his time was spent committed to military occupations, Dave did not report family engagement, but did report that, with the remaining 0%–10% of his time, he participated in his hobby of surfing. Reflecting on the impact of the bubble, Dave stated:

It's the structure of the military and what is required. They turn you into what they need you to be … As an example, you leave year 12 writing essays, but once in the military you can't do any Defence [ADF] writing till you have done the respective promotion course. You have to follow the process. Have to do the right course or be the right rank to do that … I would say though, that is what helps capability. It's fit for purpose, it works. You're not needed to be a scholar or poet. I don't believe that kindness or empathy enhance capability … You become de‐skilled in the military. You joined capable, but indoctrination teaches you learnt helplessness … This is all implicit. You are not aware this is happening until you get out … Now though [in civilian life], that's different.

Dave highlighted that transition makes the implicit effect of participating in military occupations in the bubble apparent. He noted that the focus demanded in the bubble ‘de‐skilled’ serving members for civilian life.

In contrast to other participants, Will reported greater participation in occupations other than those demanded by ‘work’ (ADF). Aware from his previous service in the bubble (2002–10) that a ‘Defence [ADF] career is always work’, he attempted to ‘get involved in community stuff. Surf lifesaving and volunteering, jazz and stuff’ during his second period of service (2015–2020). Will's experience of transition led to his prioritisation of occupations external to the bubble, to improve his second transition to civilian life. However, for the participants without previous transition experience, their hobbies were considered work. Mick explained how his role engaged him in his hobbies, as work was ‘everything’. He shared, ‘My hobbies was [sic] my job. I had all my eggs in one basket. I enjoyed shooting, parachuting, rural environments, and the outdoors. Everything was around work’.

3.1.2. The bubble pops and the real world begins: Occupational participation in civilian life

Leaving the ADF was described as the bubble popping. Maka stated that when ‘the bubble pops … the real world begins’. Participants reflected that it was only after separation from the ADF that they became aware of how isolated they had become from their family, social networks, or personal interests. It became apparent to them that maintaining participation in civilian or nonmilitary occupations during their service would have better supported transition.

Table 4 presents the participants' estimated time use in activities in civilian life from the highest to lowest percentage as allocated to work. The average percentage of time allocated to civilian work was 51%, resulting in an average of 49% for everything other than work. The participants' comparison between their time spent in work occupations to everything else in civilian life highlights the impact of their occupational patterns established in the military bubble. The participation in occupations in their civilian lives presents an increase in activities outside of those required by their work, and a greater diversity of occupations that reportedly enabled the transition to civilian life. This is demonstrated by comparison of the occupational participation between Tables 3 and 4, highlighting the increase engagement in occupations. For comparison, Table 5 presents the difference between the percentage of time dedicated to work in the military compared with civilian life.

TABLE 4.

Participant estimated percentages of time spent in activities in civilian life.

Pseudonym	Work	Everything other than work
Carlos	60%	40%—Family commitments (35%) and hunting (5%)
Dave	50%	50%—Wife (25%) and surfing (25%)
Din	60%	40%—Family, partner, friends, and hobbies
John	40%	60%—Dogs, gaming, personal development, partner, family, friends, and crypto
Kylie	60%	40%—Family, gardening, kayaking, and hiking
Maka	50%	50%—Family, socialising, athletics coaching, and physical training
Marjorie	40%	60%—Mother, ADF Reserve Forces, and hobbies
Mick	60%	40%—Husband and dad (20%), family (10%), shooting and parachuting (10%)
Naomi	5%	95%—Family (60%), leisure (20%), and friends (15%)
Rob	60%	40%—Family, relationships, and hobbies
Rowan	85%	15%—Not work
Will	50%	50%—Personal development, study, socialising, family, and health

Note: Percentages reported under the column Everything other than work represent the amount estimated by participants who offered percentages to an activity.

TABLE 5.

Difference between estimated time spent on work during military compared with civilian life.

Pseudonym	Difference between average estimated time spent on work during military career compared with civilian life
Rowan	0%
Kylie	10%
Din	22.5%
Will	25%
Carlos	30%
Rob	35%
Dave	45%
John	47%
Maka	50%
Marjorie	60%
Mick	60%
Naomi	75%

Advancing the importance of participating in occupations of personal meaning, John described the need to find ‘fun’ in these new occupations as the military bubble discouraged ‘play’. He noted that this occupational characteristic was key to the transition to civilian life. However, it was Carlos' response to his participation in civilian life that summarised the ongoing challenge of the impact of the military bubble, unsure what level of commitment is required to succeed post‐military:

I guess it's 60% [work]. I feel like work is still the majority of your day… So, you work for 8 hours, sleep for 8 hours, so that leaves you 8 hours for other things. So, a few hours before work and a few after. I'm trying to figure this out now. Eight hours a day is not giving me the time that I want or need with my family … I guess that's part of the transition period. What's actually the real‐world expectation or requirement. It's for sure not the same as the military, where it was 100%, 100% of the time. That's the other catch, what percentage do your civi peers put into work. It won't be the anticipated 100% for 8 hours … I'm still surprised, often, by the people that I work with who will finish work at 2 to go home. Or automatic emails that I receive in response that inform me that this person is away for 2 weeks and they will reach out after that time. I'm like, what the f—k [profanity]? How do you get away with this? I clearly haven't got it right at the moment.

4. DISCUSSION

This study advances the knowledge of the Australian military‐to‐civilian transition by highlighting how the focus on occupational participation in military occupations during military service can hinder the transition to civilian life. While necessary for ADF capability, this limits opportunity for the personally meaningful occupations that can mitigate the challenges faced during transition such as those that improve or maintain social connections with family and friends.

The former ADF personnel within the study were not aware of the impact of their ADF occupational participation until they had transitioned out of the ‘military bubble’. This indicates the importance for those concerned with supporting military‐to‐civilian transitions that there needs to be an earlier promotion of occupations that enhance civilian life and the adoption of strategies that promote maintaining social networks and community leisure activities. We highlight the importance for those involved in supporting the transition from military‐to‐civilian life to understand that the necessary commitment to occupational participation in military occupations that is described as ‘the military bubble’—participation which promotes ADF capability in service includes a level of commitment and structures military life around military occupations. This level of occupational participation in military occupations enables a focus that promotes the highest levels of military role proficiency that protects serving members and their peers in the conduct of their military service. It allows serving members to focus on their roles to promote ADF capability, with a guaranteed wage, superannuation, housing, and medical coverage. However, transition requires new skills to not only establish new occupational participation but also new skills to organise superannuation, find medical services and treatments, and source housing in the community.

Following transition, former serving ADF members lose the positive impacts of their military careers and can lose socialisation with former military peers. The study indicates that only after transition do people realise the impact of their previous commitment to military occupations on their lack of preparedness for civilian life. Indeed, the all‐encompassing military lifestyle that requires a focus on work‐orientated military occupational participation (i.e., the 86% average reported), results in sacrificing occupational participation that is individually meaningful for civilian life. For most former serving ADF members in this study, their military lifestyle resulted in a lack of meaningful engagement with family or hobbies. As such, transition away from familiar and prescribed military environments and military‐work occupations requires former serving members to learn or relearn how to establish participation and competence in occupations that are required for civilian life. The following discussion highlights how a greater understanding of occupational participation in military service shapes the transition to civilian life.

4.1. Military occupational participation

The experiences of former ADF members demonstrate how military service creates an environment centred around the occupational domain of work. This limits occupational participation in personally meaningful occupations and reduces time spent with family or partners. It appears that the ongoing lack of participation in personally meaningful and civilian occupations external to the ADF reduces preparedness for civilian life.

In addition, our findings indicate that the impact of time spent in military occupations varies depending on military role, unit, Service, and deployments, and its restrictions on occupational participation appear exacerbated by joining in early adulthood. Carra et al. (2021, 2023a) similarly identified how ADF roles and experiences shape the transition from service to civilian life for former serving members. Thus, it appears that former ADF members who enter the military at an earlier age with little or no experience of occupational participation in leisure and no established relationships are likely to require additional support to assist with transition.

Inversely, participation in military occupations is valued during service because it enables ADF capability and promotes high levels of physical fitness and good physical and psychological health (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018; Bryant et al., 2019). This enablement of ADF capability involves the development and promotion of military peer bonds that add to the positive effect on the health and well‐being of military service. This finding that military bonds support the military to civilian transition aligns with previous Australian Commission reporting (Interim National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention [INCDVSP], 2021; RCDVS, 2024). It is only after separation that the lack of participation in personally meaningful, family, or social networks hinders transition. The impact of the shift from committed participation in work and work‐related occupations following separation from the ADF can be understood through the concept of occupational balance (Wagman et al., 2012) and occupational imbalance (Anaby et al., 2010).

4.2. Occupational imbalance during military service and its impact on the transition to civilian life

This study highlights how being in the ADF requires prioritisation of organisational requirements and military capability which match the organisation's values and demands for ‘focus’ and ‘commitment’ to the collective rather than to personal interests and needs. Indeed, Demers (2011) highlights that military service celebrates the needs of the collective over individualism. The experiences of those in this study highlight that prioritisation of collective occupations that promote ADF capability, and the subsequent lack of occupational balance can be problematic during transition as it requires a sudden shift from the collective to individualised goals.

Wagman et al. (2012, p. 324) define occupational balance as an individual's subjective experience of what they consider as the ‘right amount of occupations and the right variation between occupations’. While in the ADF, participants did not regard focusing on work over other occupational areas of leisure, rest, and sleep as problematic. It only became problematic when they needed to shift, organise, and participate in occupations that were congruent with personal aspirations and values (Backman, 2010), participants could reflect that the ADF collective occupational balance was problematic. This supports previous research highlighting that an individual's ability to set limits on their participation can be lost in relation to the needs of their work (Håkansson & Ahlborg, 2018). Such an inability compromises occupational balance (Westhorp, 2003), challenging the health and well‐being of former serving members, commencing at the time of separation. Other studies indicate that occupational imbalance may contribute to the development of stress‐related conditions (Håkansson & Ahlborg, 2018; Hernandez et al., 2020; Yu et al., 2018). This may contribute to the significantly higher levels of psychological stress (33.1% vs. 12.8%) reported in the former serving ADF community than is found in the broader Australian society (Van Hooff et al., 2018). Thus, this study supports the call for further examination of health promotion initiatives to counter the impact of occupational imbalance (Anaby et al., 2010).

For former ADF members, transition often increases the time available for family and leisure. This creates occupational freedom, a phrase coined by Plach and Sells (2013) to describe the ability to engage in personally meaningful occupations following military service (Plach, 2009). This freedom can create additional transition challenges due to an absence of military structure. The ADF members in the current study experienced similar difficulties ‘to fill the void’ identified by Carra et al. (2023b, p. 345). Thus, there is a need for a targeted ADF transition strategy that encourages and supports ADF members to participate in occupations which enhance the return to civilian life.

At the ‘corporate’ level (Wilcock & Hocking, 2015), the ADF can implement strategies to mitigate the occupational imbalance associated with the focus on military capability, development of the military lifestyle, and building relationships with peers. This could be accomplished by promoting participation in occupations while in the ADF which can be continued when re‐entering civilian life. It appears important that people are guided to identify personally meaningful occupations. For those who serve in combat roles, high‐tempo units, who are deployed, or joined younger than 22 years of age, identifying personally meaningful civilian occupations appears pivotal. This guidance can enable the development or maintenance of mastery in chosen leisure activities. Discussing the importance of planning for changes in time‐use with ADF members could assist their transition planning. Our study identifies that living in ‘the military bubble’ can create a lack of the personally meaningful occupations which offer a sense of individuality or individual purpose in civilian life.

For people in the study, military service appeared to offer limited participation in leisure occupations outside the ADF, resulting in a lack of individual engagement in occupations or the opportunity for civilian social connections. The lack of individual engagement with society fails to offer military personnel the opportunity to explore how their individual values, abilities, and experiences (Rodger et al., 2014) are beneficial or relevant for civilian life within society. This was particularly relevant for those who felt ‘locked‐in’. Finding meaningful leisure activities following separation from the ADF reportedly improved the military‐to‐civilian transition, promoting the necessary shift from the collective needs of the military to the needs and desires of the individual. This aligns with the Australian INCDVSP (2021), which highlighted the importance of a sense of agency and transition centred on the member (finding no. 81) to better enable the transition to civilian life. Similarly, Carra et al. (2021) report an improved transition experience is associated with participation in recreation and leisure occupations, with 86% (n = 155) of their participants indicating an increase in their health and well‐being. These findings advance the importance of participation to promote a sense of individuality or individual purpose to enable civilian life post service in the ADF.

The prolonged inability to participate in personally meaningful occupations that promote individualism, such as personal or family relationships or occupations connected to society, creates a sense of reduced occupational competence in civilian life. Occupational competence is defined as the degree to which a person can sustain a pattern of occupational participation, including the fulfilment of roles and values; maintenance of routine; participation in a range of occupations providing a sense of ability, control, satisfaction, and fulfilment; and the pursuit of personal values (Kielhofner, 2002). While the prolonged engagement in military occupations establishes military competence in the bubble, the transition to society challenges this sense of competence. The individual must establish or re‐establish their sense of occupational competence. Recently Tan et al. (2020) argue that occupational competence is achieved through enhancing personal states of self‐efficacy in fulfilling valued occupations. Drawing from this work further supports the promotion of participation in individually meaningful occupations to enable the transition to civilian life.

4.3. Implications for practice

Occupational therapists are de facto transition experts, who are client‐centred and holistic, able to assist in the participation in meaningful activities, and as such are well suited to enable the transition to civilian life (Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, 2017). Similarly, Orentlicher et al. (2015) argue occupational therapists are uniquely positioned to utilise occupational analysis to anticipate transition roles, requirements, and skills required to enable the transition from military‐to‐civilian life. This role is important because occupational participation of ADF personnel is focused on military capability rather than individual capability. While participation in the ADF establishes the strong military peer bonds that can provide support within the military community, the lack of participation in occupations to establish a civilian life during military service challenges the transition. Unfortunately, there are limited occupational therapy interventions currently offered by Australian therapists beyond interventions to manage physical conditions, despite calls to expand occupational therapy services provided to meet the diverse and complex needs related to ADF transition (McIntyre et al., 2023).

Education of ADF personnel that prepares them for the impact of separating from military occupations may decrease transition challenges. In addition, offering ADF personnel the opportunity to identify what is personally meaningful to them and establish a plan for occupational engagement that will enable their individuality may be a key step. Ongoing support during the military‐to‐civilian transition process may be required to address the impact of loss of occupational competence and the need to develop an awareness of occupational balance in civilian life, particularly in relation to work.

4.4. Future research

While this research has advanced the understanding of the military‐to‐civilian transition of former serving military members, future research should consider the use of formal tools to assess occupational balance/imbalance and occupational competence to enable the military‐to‐civilian transition. Additionally, future research should consider the capacity for occupational adaptation as a factor in successful transitions and consider exploring the impact of work‐orientated participation in other workplaces, such as professional sporting teams (INCDVSP, 2021) or emergency services to better enable major life transitions, promoting health and well‐being.

4.5. Limitations

As the recruitment and data collection processes utilised electronic technologies, people without access were not recruited for this study, which limited the sample of former serving ADF community. However, given that the study was conducted during the COVID‐19 pandemic, this electronic approach allowed the study to be conducted. The study sample size may limit the transferability of findings to the broader ADF community. However, the depth and richness of data from the 12 participants offered the holistic perspective lacking in the research. Finally, the removal of the participants' specific roles to maintain their anonymity, as required by ethics, resulted in unreported data to support the study findings.

5. CONCLUSION

The study highlights that military service demands participation in occupations that promote military capability. In turn, this demand limits participation in occupations that are personally meaningful and reduces ADF members' connections to civilian life, creating challenges for transition from military‐to‐civilian life. These challenges are often only noticeable at the time of separation. This highlights the importance of providing strategies for those entering transition to address occupational competence and imbalance following military service. This can include the need to identify occupations that are personally meaningful to an individual, outside the military. The former serving ADF members highlight how a lack of engagement in personally meaningful occupations during service diminishes occupational competence as they transition into civilian life. To counter these issues, occupational therapists need to promote occupational competence and foster restorative occupational balance for former serving military personnel to address the impact of military service.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

All authors contributed to the design of the research and ethics application. NK completed data collection and the primary analysis. All authors contributed to the final analysis. NK wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and edited the submitted final version.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors have no potential conflict of interest to declare with respect to the research, authorship, or publication of the article.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Due to restrictions from ethics approval and at the requests of participants, data from this study are not shared publicly; thus, supporting data are not available.