Commending the Non-Commissioned Officer’s Leadership as a Predictor of Occupational Burnout and Operational Performance Among Junior Enlisted Personnel of the 560th Air Base Group

Abstract

Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) provide frontline guidance and support in demanding military environments, where operational workloads can affect personnel well-being and performance. This study described junior enlisted personnel’s assessments of NCO leadership, occupational burnout, and operational performance at the 560th Air Base Group, Brigadier General Benito N. Ebuen Air Base, during 2026, and examined challenges encountered by First Sergeants. A descriptive survey design involved 180 junior enlisted personnel selected from 326 eligible personnel through squadron-stratified sampling, supplemented by qualitative accounts from 11 First Sergeants. Adapted questionnaires measured four leadership dimensions, three burnout dimensions, and four performance dimensions; frequency, percentage, weighted mean, standard deviation, and thematic analysis were used. Leadership ratings ranged from 3.9236 for supervision, mentorship, and welfare support to 4.0361 for task guidance. Emotional exhaustion was moderate (M = 2.7833), whereas depersonalization (M ≈ 2.42) and reduced personal accomplishment (M = 2.1375) were low. Operational performance ratings were favorable (M = 4.0056–4.1667). Interview accounts identified manpower shortages, inadequate resources, strain on personnel welfare, and interpersonal leadership concerns. The findings informed a proposed Leadership Enhancement and Sustainability Framework prioritizing staffing, mentoring, workload management, and leadership integrity. Because the thesis did not report predictive regression or correlation tests, the results support descriptive assessment and an intervention proposal rather than established statistical prediction.