Quality of Working Life in African Military Contexts: The Case of the Mozambique Armed Defense Forces

https://zenodo.org/records/17021743

Abstract

This article analyses the Quality of Work Life within the Mozambican Armed Forces, framing the discussion within a broader reflection on the challenges faced by African military institutions. Using a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data from 328 military personnel of different ranks and branches, the study examines how human resource management practices, institutional leadership, and infrastructural conditions affect personnel well-being. The findings reveal alarming levels of demotivation, perceptions of organisational injustice, and weaknesses in both symbolic and functional recognition policies, undermining internal cohesion and operational readiness. The article argues that promoting QWL in African military contexts requires integrated public policies, ethical leadership, and a human-centred organisational culture adapted to the specificities of military missions and the sociopolitical realities of the continent. The study thus contributes to the development of an African epistemology of military QWL, offering pathways for the professionalisation and humanisation of national defence.