– I haven’t had a weekday since I was 15, says Eirik Østby. Now he is 31 years old and quitting his job in the Armed Forces. He is not alone in that. In 2023, 695 employees left the Armed Forces to find another job. This shows figures that Offiserbladet has taken from the Norwegian Armed Forces’ personnel and conscription centre. It is not the first time that statistics show that many people quit their jobs in the Norwegian Armed Forces. In 2022, 826 people left their jobs. Most of those who quit are younger than 36. This worries both the trade association BFO and the Armed Forces themselves. At the same time, there has now been war in Europe for two years, and before the weekend the government promised extra billions to step up the Armed Forces. And money is needed if the Norwegian Armed Forces are to be able to reverse the trend towards retirement, the union believes. Commuting, pension and free time Østby started at the Naval Academy in 2015 and has been in the Norwegian Armed Forces since then. Today, he is a trusted watch commander, second-in-command on a vessel and has both personnel and training responsibilities. Now he points to four factors that are decisive for him to quit his job: Commuting Østby lives in Sandefjord, but commutes to Bergen for work. He thinks it would have been more affordable if he worked a “normal” shift. – If I still work at sea and am out for three weeks, then I want three weeks at home at the other end, or something like that. Little free time in the weekday Because the Navy and the Navy’s war fleet are exempt from some sections of the Working Environment Act, their rotation does not work in the same way as that of many other naval employees. – If I sail in a four-day week, I count eight hours for time off, which is one working day. The total time you have to sail to earn free time will be quite high. A large part of the salary of many in the Armed Forces is a supplement. Without these, the salary will be too low, Østby believes. In the picture, the Norwegian Navy is patrolling in Western Norway. Photo: Lidvard Sandven / news Bad pension schemes Østby thinks the pension scheme in the Armed Forces is too bad. He points out that he earns a pension of between 40 and 60 per cent of his income, somewhat depending on how much he sails. The reason is that it is the basic salary that gives him a pension, not the supplements he receives when he is at sea. Østby believes the basic salary is low compared to other professions. He feels that he is not saving for a pension on what is his primary job. Requirement for level-raising education to be able to move on – Now I am in an intermediate level where, for me, some level-raising education is required for me to be able to move on. The conditions for carrying it out make it quite irrelevant for me, says Østby. Concretely, it is a year on the school bench which means no sealing, and thus no addition to the salary. – The challenge with the scheme is that you halve your salary from the one you are on Today. Several of my colleagues who are going to start the course are actually, in these animal times we are in, skeptical about whether it will work out purely financially. In addition, he believes that you get little to progress in the system: You get a lot more responsibility, without the salary rising particularly much. He refers to the accident with KNM Helge Ingstad, where the commander of the watch on the frigate alone has been convicted. Eirik Østby is ready for work in a new industry. Photo: Agnieszka Iwanska Trade union: – There is no doubt that I am worried Østby does not believe that money and finances are what most frustrate those who leave the Navy. – It is this balance between how much you are out, compared to how much time you have at home, that eats away at people. Dag Stutlien in the Joint Command Organization (BFO) also points out that the reasons why many quit are complex. Dag Stutlien in BFO points out that they are working on getting a new and better pension agreement for employees in the Armed Forces. Photo: Øyvind Førland Olsen – Researchers at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute have looked at this, and what remains is salary and incentive, lack of career opportunities, commuting and the balance between work and leisure. In addition, a new reason has emerged in recent years: Many state that they have lost faith in the system. He looks at the increased departure among young people with concern. Stutlien points out that the Armed Forces differ from other workplaces in several ways. One of them is the in-house production of expertise. – When a 35-year-old quits, I would like to have spent 15 years building the relevant skills. When that competence ends, I cannot recruit as easily as others with an advertisement on Finn, for example. These left the Armed Forces last year. Around 480 of those who left were so-called “specialists”, while around 210 were officers. Specialists make up the majority of the military personnel in the defence. 78 per cent of specialists left before they turned 31, while 58 per cent of officers left the armed forces before they turned 36. In 2023, there were 12,681 military personnel in the armed forces. This means that more than 5 percent chose to leave the Armed Forces before they retired, writes BFO.no. The armed forces use time to train their employees. The picture is from an exercise with the air defense battalion at Tjeldbergodden in Aure, at one of Equinor’s facilities. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news The Armed Forces: – May have operational consequences The Chief of the Defense Staff, Lieutenant General Ingrid Gjerde, also says she is worried about the final numbers. – We are particularly concerned about certain categories which cause us to have some holes in the organization which can have operational consequences. Those holes I’m busy filling. Gjerde compares with other workplaces and says the Armed Forces still have good stability in the workforce, but that there are more people quitting than before. Ingrid Gjerde points out that the Norwegian Armed Forces are working on measures to retain employees. Photo: Torgeir Haugaard / Defense She points out that the Defense has the problem high on the agenda and that they have implemented measures to retain personnel. The measure involves, among other things, an increase in education quotas, an ongoing salary and incentive project and work for re-recruitment, i.e. getting those who have previously worked in the Armed Forces to return to the workplace. This includes that they consider changes when it comes to pay and pensions, working hours and commuting options, as Østby calls for. – Getting a better balance between income and pension is an issue that this project looks at, says Gjerde. She points out that they have surveys that show that most people who leave the Armed Forces can well imagine coming back, and that the employees are generally very happy. Take the experience with you further Østby believes that there are several things that have changed in recent decades that mean that fewer people stay in their defense jobs. – I think it is also about the modern family. There is a greater expectation that you have time at home, regardless of your gender. That you have time to be with your family, and that the time you are possibly away from the weekday is compensated in a good way. Although Østby is clear about what he hopes will be better in his next job, he also wants to take something from the Armed Forces with him. Østby will take his experience from the Armed Forces with him to his next job. Photo: Agnieszka Iwanska – One of the things that makes me happy in the Armed Forces, and which I think many people know, is that you provide a community service and have an important core mission. He would like to take that with him further in a new job. Hello! I am one of the journalists who have worked on this case. Thank you for reading our story! Do you have a response to what is presented here or thoughts about other important matters? Please contact!
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The armed forces are losing hundreds of young employees – Eirik Østby wants free time, a pension and less commuting – news Vestland
