Organizational Identity and Career Transition as Predictors of Pre-Retirement Anxiety among Nigerian Military Personnel

Abstract

Nigerian Military personnel’s continuous transition from governmental to non-governmental work is likely to result in some psychological reactions and increasing every day. Our study examined organizational identity and career transition as predictors of pre-retirement anxiety among Nigeria military personnel. A total of 285 soldiers (202 males and 83 females) participated in the study. Their ages range between 50-60 years with mean age of 55.01 (S.D= 11.30). Three instruments were used which include: Pre-retirement Anxiety Scale (RAS), Organizational Identification Scale (OIDS), and Career Transition Inventory (CTI). Two hypotheses were tested and cross-sectional survey design was adopted, while correlation and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. The results of the analysis showed that organizational identity is not a predictor of pre-retirement anxiety.  Career transition negatively predicted pre-retirement anxiety. This showed that the more Nigerian military personnel transit to retirement, the less anxious they feel. This is attributed the eagerness to leave their profession as a result of sabotage, stereotype, ethnocentrisms and political economy involved in the recent administration of Nigerian military. This paper makes an original contribution to research in the area of organizational identity and career transition in pre-retirement anxiety among Nigeria military personnel. It was suggested that there may be moderator variables (e.g., psychological detachment, person-job-fit, organizational ethical climate, work/non-work interference and enhancement, combat experiences with exposure and psychological work ability) which could possibly increase and/or decrease the effect organizational identity and career transition among Nigerian military personnel preretirement anxiety.