Federal work life programs and generational perception: an exploratory study using evidence from OPM’s work life survey

ABSTRACT

Understanding the work-life needs of all public sector employees is key to revitalizing government agencies and the services they deliver. Using the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s very first Federal Work Life Survey (2018), this study examines intergenerational variations of perceived satisfaction from federal work-life programs, supervisory support to participate in federal work life programs, and the moderating effect of work-life programs on an employee’s intention to leave. Our study confirms the existence of generational differences amongst millennials, generation X, baby boomers, and traditionalists and highlights the benefits of work-life programs for employees across generations, with particular emphasis on their attractiveness to younger workers, and the need to discover and create innovative ways to retain workers across generations in the federal workforce.

KEYWORDS:

• Federal work-life programs
• generational differences
• intention to leave
• federal work life survey

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lauren Bock Mullins

Lauren Bock Mullins, PhD is an Associate Professor at the Chazanoff School of Business, CUNY College of Staten Island with a PhD from Rutgers University – Newark SPAA. Her research focuses on human resource management, work-life and sustainability.

Jung Ah Yun

Jung Ah (Claire) Yun, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration and Criminal Justice at Kean University. She earned her PhD from Rutgers University – Newark SPAA.Her research focuses on public and nonprofit management including collaborative governance, human resource management, and financial management.

Shilpa Viswanath

Shilpa Viswanath, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at CUNY. She earned her PhD from Rutgers University – Newark SPAA and her research focuses on public sector human resource management and comparative public administration.