Can Four Generations Create Harmony Within a Public-Sector Environment?

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between generational cohort and cohort perceptions of managerial effectiveness within the context of the federal public service. Data in this study were derived from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which included 421,748 full-time, part-time, and nonseasonal federal government employees geographically dispersed across the United States and overseas. The results of the study indicated that ratings of managerial effectiveness by all four generational cohorts for all three levels of managers studied were relatively high with correlation coefficients ranging from .96 to .99. However, the only cohort association that consistently had a statistically significant relationship with managerial effectiveness across all three levels was Generation Xers and Millennials. The p value for this relationship was p < .05 for all three managerial levels studied. Based on the study’s data, there was little difference in perceptions regarding managerial effectiveness among the four cohorts. Recommendations for future research include adding perspectives from Generation Z employees who are now entering the federal workforce, and studying how supervisors rate their own supervisors, given their unique managerial experience and perspective within the context of their generational cohort, would add to the body of knowledge on managerial effectiveness among generational cohorts.