Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Multigenerational perceptions of the academic work environment in higher education in the United States

  • Published:
Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The current workforce composition of the academy is comprised of multiple generational cohorts, Traditionalists, Leading Edge Boomers, Trailing Edge Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials. Despite the plethora of research identifying a myriad of differences in the way these generational cohorts approach work and social activities little attention has been paid to their perceptions of the psychosocial aspects of the academic work environment. The present study used the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II to assess job perceptions of 434 academic personnel across four generational cohorts. A direct discriminant function analysis revealed Trailing Edge Boomers perceived a greater effort-reward imbalance than Traditionalists/Leading Edge Boomers and Generation Xers, and Millennials perceive less imbalance than all other generations. There were also generational group differences in perceived stress and health. These results draw attention to the value of knowing the generational composition of a higher education institution in order to take into account the unique needs of each generational cohort when planning ways to improve recruitment, retention, and productivity of administrators, faculty and staff.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alsop, R. (2008). The trophy kids grow up. How the Millennial Generation is shaping up the workplace. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Austin, A. (2002). Preparing the next generation of faculty: Graduate school as socialization to the academic career. The Journal of Higher Education, 73, 94–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ballone, C. (2007). Consulting your clients to leverage the multi-generational workforce. Journal of Practical Consulting, 2, 9–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouvier, L. F., & DeVita, C. J. (1991). The Baby Boom-entering midlife. Population Bulletin, 46(3), 2–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broom, C. (2010). Entice, engage, endure: Adapting evidence-based retention strategies to a new generation of nurses. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 2, 49–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, M. E. (2004). Generational differences survey report: Alexandria VA: Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved from: http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/documents/generational%20differences%20survey%20report.pdf

  • Conklin, M. H., & Desselle, S. P. (2007). Job turnover intentions among pharmacy faculty. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 71(4), 62–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crickenberger, L. (2011). Understanding the multigenerational workplace in academia. CUPA-HR (College and University Professional Association for Human Resources) News, Retrieved from: http://www.cupahr.org/news/item.aspx?id=8647

  • Families and Work Institute for the American Business Collaboration (2002). Generation and gender in the workplace. GA: The American Business Collaboration. Retrieved from: http://familiesandwork.org/site/research/reports/genandgender.pdf

  • Foley, E. & LeFevre, A. (2001). Understanding generation X. Zagnoli McEvoy Foley LLC. Retrieved from: http://www.voirdirebase.com/pdfs/gen_x.pdf

  • Gallagher, A. & Trower, C. A. (2009, Feb). The demand for diversity. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from: http://chronicle.com/article/The-Demand-for-Diversity/44849

  • Gappa, J. M. & Austin, A. E. (2010). Rethinking academic traditions for the twenty-first century faculty. Faculty work: Higher education’s strategic imperative. AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom, Retrieved from: http://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/files/JAF/2010%20JAF/Gappa.pdf

  • Hahn, J. (2011). Managing multiple generations: Scenarios from the workplace. Nursing Forum, 36, 119–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannay, M., & Fretwell, C. (2011). The higher education workplace: Meeting the needs of multiple generations. Research in Higher Education Journal, 10, 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, M. G., Novicevic, M., Ready, K. J., Kuffel, T., & Duke, A. (2006). Viewpoint: Managing change in business schools: Focus on faculty responses. Journal of Education for Business, 81, 160–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, B. B. (2006). Teaching at the People’s University: An introduction to the State Comprehensive University. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hershatter, A., & Epstein, M. (2010). Millennials and the world of work: An organization and management perspective. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 211–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, J. (2008). Strategies for managing talent in a multigenerational workforce. Employment Relations Today, 34(4), 19–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J., Steward, W., Hall, E., Fredlund, P., & Theorell, T. (1996). Long-term psychosocial work environment and cardiovascular mortality among Swedish men. American Journal of Public Health, 86, 324–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaye, B., Scheff, D., & Thielfoldt, D. (2003). Engaging the generations. In M. Effron, R. Gandossy, & M. Goldsmith (Eds.), Human resources in the 21st century (pp. 25–34). New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiss, P., De Meester, M., Kruse, A., Chavee, B., & Braeckman, L. (2012). Comparison between the first and second versions of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire: Psychosocial risk factors for a high need for recovery after work. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 86, 17–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kristensen, T., Hannerz, H., Høgh, A., & Borg, V. (2005). The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ): A tool for the assessment and improvement of the psychosocial work environment. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 31, 438–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leiter, M., Price, S., & Laschinger, H. (2010). Generational differences in distress, attitudes and incivility among nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 18, 970–980.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe, G., Schellenberg, G., & Shannon, H. (2003). Correlates of employees’ perceptions of a healthy work environment. American Journal of Health Promotion, 17, 390–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, K., Legg, S., & Toulson, P. (2005). Generational cohorts. International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations, 5, 89–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malone, T. (2004). The future of work: How the new order of business will shape your organization, your management style, and your life. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marston, C. (2007). Here they come … and there they go: Recruiting and retaining Millennials in a Boomer world. Retrieved from: http://www.learncom.com/pdf/VL6725_ART.pdf

  • Matesic, G. (2009). The internal world of libraries and the challenge of civility. In J. Varlejs & G. Walton (Eds.), Strategies for regenerating the library and information profession (pp. 158–170). The Hague: IFLA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mausner-Dorsch, H., & Eaton, W. E. (2000). Psychosocial work environment and depression: Epidemiologic assessment of the demand-control model. American Journal of Public Health, 90(11), 1765–2000.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meriac, J., Woehr, D., & Banister, C. (2010). Generational differences in work ethic: An examination of measurement equivalence across the three cohorts. Journal of Business Psychology, 25, 315–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MetLife (2013, April). The MetLife study of GenX: The MTV generation moves into midlife. New York, NY: The MetLife Mature Market Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/2013/mmi-gen-x.pdf

  • Milem, J. B., Berger, J. B., & Day, E. L. (2000). Faculty time allocation. Journal of Higher Education, 71, 454–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, K., & Sadaghiani, K. (2010). Millennials in the workplace: A communication perspective on Millennials’ organizational relationships and performance. Journal of Business Psychology, 25, 225–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nemetz, P., & Cameron, A. (2006). Higher education out of control: Regaining strategic focus in an age of diminishing resources. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 5, 38–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pejtersen, J. H., Kristensen, T. S., Borg, V., & Bjorner, J. B. (2010). The second version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 38(Suppl 3), 8–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peña-Suárez, E., Muñiz, J., Campillo-Álvarez, A., Fonseca-Pedrero, E., & García-Cueto, E. (2013). Assessing organizational climate: Psychometric properties of the CLIOR Scale. Psicothema, 25, 137–144. doi:10.7334/psicothema2012.260

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitt-Catsouphes, M. & Matz-Costa, C. (2009, March). Engaging the 21st Century multi-generational workforce: Findings from the age & generations study. (Issue brief 20). MA: Boston College Sloan Center on Aging & Work. Retrieved from: http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/agingandwork/pdf/publications/IB20_Engagement.pdf

  • Pitt-Catsouphes, M., Matz-Costa, C., & Bessen, E. (2009, March). Age and generations: Understanding experiences at the workplace (Research Highlight 6). MA: Boston College Sloan Center on Aging & Work. Retrieved from: http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/agingandwork/pdf/publications/RH06_Age_Generations.pdf

  • Roundtree, L. (2011). Age: A 21st century diversity imperative. (Executive Case Report No. 4). MA: Boston College Sloan Center on Aging & Work. Retrieved from: http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/agingandwork/pdf/publications/case_AgeDiversity.pdf

  • Schuster, J. H., & Finkelstein, N. H. (2006). The American faculty: The restricting of academic work and careers. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seigel, M. L. (2004). On collegiality. Journal of Legal Education, 54, 406–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, K. (2012). Fools, facilitators and flexians: Academic identities in marketised environments. Higher Education Quarterly, 66, 155–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, W., & Howe, N. (1991). Generations: The history of America’s future, 1584 to 2069. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, M. (2007). Generation NeXt goes to work: Issues in workplace readiness and performance. Chicago: The Higher Learning Commission. Retrieved from: http://www.taylorprograms.com/images/Gen_NeXt_article_HLC_07.pdf

  • Twenge, J. (2010). A review of the empirical evidence on generational differences in work attitudes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 201–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J., & Campbell, S. (2001). Age and birth cohort differences in self-esteem. A cross- temporal meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5, 321–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J., & Campbell, S. (2008). Generational differences in psychological traits and their impact on the workplace. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23, 862–877.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J., Campbell, S., Hoffman, B., & Lance, C. (2010). Generational differences in work values: Leisure and extrinsic values increasing, social and intrinsic values decreasing. Journal of Management, 36, 1117–1142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, B., Squires, M., Widger, K., Cranley, L., & Tourangeau, A. (2008). Job satisfaction among a multigenerational nursing workforce. Journal of Nursing Management, 16, 716–723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2010). WHO Healthy Workplace Framework and Model: Background and Supporting Literature and Practices. The World Health Organization. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/occupational_health/activities/healthy_workplaces/en/index.html

  • Zemke, R., Raines, C., & Filipczak, B. (2000). Generations at work: Managing the clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in your workplace. New York, NY: American Management Association. Retrieved from: http://www.hettler.com/AAHAM/GENERATIONS%20AT%20WORK%208-2000.htm

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Murray State University, Murray, KY, USA

    Kelly A. Kleinhans, Kala Chakradhar, Susan Muller & Paula Waddill

Authors
  1. Kelly A. Kleinhans
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kala Chakradhar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Susan Muller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Paula Waddill
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kelly A. Kleinhans.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kleinhans, K.A., Chakradhar, K., Muller, S. et al. Multigenerational perceptions of the academic work environment in higher education in the United States. High Educ 70, 89–103 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9825-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9825-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation