Although unemployment and job growth numbers change monthly, one group consistently faces high unemployment: military spouses. The life of a military spouse is often marked by frequent relocations, sometimes overseas and back, and long stretches of solo parenting due to unit workups, deployments, long schools and training pipelines, and more. While the opportunity to travel the world can be amazing, it can also take a toll on finding stable employment. This is where the 4+1 Commitment comes in to help and why companies like Trident Proposal Management are signing the Commitment.

The 4+1 Commitment

This program began in 2023 and was developed by Blue Star Families, Hiring Our Heroes, and the DoD’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership. It’s a voluntary commitment that employers make to adopt at least one of these four military spouse-friendly policies:

• Facilitate job transferability
• Offer remote or telework
• Offer flexible work hours
• Provide paid or permissive Permanent Change of Station (PCS) leave

Employers must also consider joining an existing government spouse employment program, like the Military Spouse Career Accelerator Pilot (MSCAP) or Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP).

Understanding Military Spouse Unemployment

According to the DoD, “the unemployment rate for military spouses is at about 21%.” With high unemployment rates, the annual report by Blue Star Families found that only 32% of active duty family respondents would consider recommending military service, down from 55% in 2016.  

(Source: Blue Star Families 2023 Lifestyle Survey)

High unemployment rates are attributed to frequent relocations, changes in family responsibilities during deployments, unaccompanied tours, frequent travel, schools, and other factors. The geographic location of some military bases and limited job opportunities also play a key role. A Department of Labor fact sheet shows that 89% of military spouses have some college, 30% have a four-year degree, and 15% have an advanced degree. While some have employment, 31.6% of military spouses are employed part-time but may prefer full-time work.

Trident’s Commitment

Trident’s core commitment is “creating flexible and portable job opportunities for drilling reservists, veterans, and spouses of active duty military all over the world.”

“We’re excited to formalize our commitment and help spread awareness about this initiative,” said Rebecca Wayland, Trident’s Chief of Staff. “So many of our employees – myself included – are military spouses who know firsthand the challenges of restarting your life every few years. Luckily for me, Trident’s Leadership Team recognized early on that many of the services Trident provides can be accomplished effectively remotely as long as we hire organized, responsible, accountable people. And that’s what is so great about hiring military spouses – they bring all those qualities and more – they are very hardworking, resilient, and reliable. All we have to do as the employer is stay a little bit flexible and a little bit creative in how we use their talents.”

How Trident will Maintain this Commitment

Many of our best referrals over the years have come from the military veteran and spouse community, so any time we’re looking to add talent to our team, we start there. And we don’t just rely on word of mouth – we actively seek out military spouses by advertising open positions on military spouse job boards and attending veteran/military spouse hiring events. Today, 75% of our W-2 staff are military spouses, and we engage many more as independent consultants on a project-by-project basis.

Is the 4+ 1 Commitment right for your company?

What’s great about the commitment is that businesses of any size can participate, and you don’t have to adopt all four policies. In the last few years, the MSEP Program in particular has removed the requirement for a company to commit to a certain number of hires or maintain a certain number of open positions, so it’s easier for even small businesses to get connected to military spouses who are looking for meaningful employment. And the other thing to keep in mind is that for many professional services being performed remotely, adopting these flexibility-based policies can benefit all of your employees – not just the military spouses.

How to Get Involved

This quote from the Blue Star Family website summarizes what military spouses think large corporations should do to support military spouses.

Nearly half of military spouse respondents (47%) identified working with large corporations to design military spouse-friendly work options (i.e., flexible hours, job-sharing options, remote/virtual work options) as their top suggestion for improving the unemployment/underemployment of military spouses (2018 MFLS).

Click here to learn about the 4+1 Commitment and adopt one of the four policies.

Trident’s Recommendations

Military spouse employment will remain a commitment for Trident. The 4+1 Commitment offers a path for employers to help bridge the unemployment/underemployment gap many military spouses face.Adopting these policies gives you access to a talented pool of potential employees who bring unique talents, skillets, offset time zones (Trident leverages this skill), and a unique camaraderie that can only be found by hiring military spouses. Consider joining Trident and take the 4+1 Commitment today.

Still reading? Check out our blog about how to give back by supporting Veterans.  

Written by Morgan Over and Rebecca Wayland

Morgan is our marketing manager and a proposal support specialist. When she isn’t handling marketing for Trident, she is tech editing documents and building orals decks for our clients. As a military spouse based on the East Coast, she supports clients around the world as part of our globally dispersed team. 

Rebecca is our Chief of Staff. While Rebecca may primarily wear the HR hat, she offers comprehensive proposal management, capture support, market research and training. She is also our GWAC and MA-IDIQ lead so if you’re exploring SeaPort NxG, SEWP VI, OASIS+, or Alliant 3, she is definitely your SME. As a U.S. Navy veteran and military spouse based in Hawai’i, she supports clients around the world as part of our globally dispersed team.