Psychosocial occupational health in military work environments: cross-sectional findings among Spanish enlisted military personnel

Military work environments combine high operational demands, hierarchical control and limited autonomy, creating conditions in which psychosocial risks may affect occupational health. This study examined an integrated psychosocial occupational health model linking job stress, distributive justice, psychological capital, military identity and occupational health outcomes among Spanish enlisted military personnel. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 382 enlisted members of the Spanish Armed Forces between February 17 and March 30, 2025. Measures assessed job stress, distributive justice, psychological capital, military identity, well-being, job satisfaction and work engagement. Direct and indirect associations were estimated using partial least squares structural equation modelling with 10,000 bootstrap samples. Job stress was negatively associated with psychological capital, distributive justice, military identity and occupational health outcomes. Psychological capital and military identity were positively associated with occupational health outcomes, and the model explained 73.5% of their variance. Indirect effects indicated that job stress was associated with poorer occupational health mainly through lower psychological capital and, to a lesser extent, lower military identity. The findings suggest that occupational health in military work environments is associated not only with job stress but also with personal, organisational and identity-related resources. Psychosocial risk prevention in military and other hierarchical workplaces may benefit from combining stressor reduction with strategies that strengthen psychological capital, distributive fairness and constructive occupational identity.