Objective: In today’s multigenerational workforce, organizational leaders continuously seek methods to retain valued employees. Employees who perceive their work-related values are in alignment with their employer is central to intentions to quit. In this study, generational differences in definitions of meaningful work among the Gen X and Millennials cusp cohorts and between genders were investigated. Method: A quantitative nonexperimental survey approach was applied using self-reported measures of the Comprehensive Meaningful Work Scale (CMWS). Two hundred eleven US-based employees in various professional, semi-professional, and non-professional occupations provided their perceptions of meaningful work. An ANOVA was used as the method of analysis. Results: The results indicated no significant differences in definitions of meaningful work between individuals of Gen X and Millennials on the cusp of their generation. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in definitions of meaningful work between gender of Gen X and Millennial cusp cohorts. The results revealed similarities in definitions of meaningful work among Gen X and Millennial Cuspers and between genders. Conclusions: Employees of all generations pursue meaningful work. Recommendations include the use of qualitative methodological approaches, longitudinal studies, and multiple data points to explore intergenerational differences to analyze how generations effect change in the workplace.
| Published in | Journal of Human Resource Management (Volume 9, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11 |
| Page(s) | 1-14 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Meaningful Work, Generational Differences, Generation X, Millennials, Cusp Cohorts, ANOVA
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APA Style
Beverly Van Hyatt. (2021). Definitions of Meaningful Work for Generation X and Millennial Cuspers. Journal of Human Resource Management, 9(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11
ACS Style
Beverly Van Hyatt. Definitions of Meaningful Work for Generation X and Millennial Cuspers. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2021, 9(1), 1-14. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11
AMA Style
Beverly Van Hyatt. Definitions of Meaningful Work for Generation X and Millennial Cuspers. J Hum Resour Manag. 2021;9(1):1-14. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11,
author = {Beverly Van Hyatt},
title = {Definitions of Meaningful Work for Generation X and Millennial Cuspers},
journal = {Journal of Human Resource Management},
volume = {9},
number = {1},
pages = {1-14},
doi = {10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jhrm.20210901.11},
abstract = {Objective: In today’s multigenerational workforce, organizational leaders continuously seek methods to retain valued employees. Employees who perceive their work-related values are in alignment with their employer is central to intentions to quit. In this study, generational differences in definitions of meaningful work among the Gen X and Millennials cusp cohorts and between genders were investigated. Method: A quantitative nonexperimental survey approach was applied using self-reported measures of the Comprehensive Meaningful Work Scale (CMWS). Two hundred eleven US-based employees in various professional, semi-professional, and non-professional occupations provided their perceptions of meaningful work. An ANOVA was used as the method of analysis. Results: The results indicated no significant differences in definitions of meaningful work between individuals of Gen X and Millennials on the cusp of their generation. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in definitions of meaningful work between gender of Gen X and Millennial cusp cohorts. The results revealed similarities in definitions of meaningful work among Gen X and Millennial Cuspers and between genders. Conclusions: Employees of all generations pursue meaningful work. Recommendations include the use of qualitative methodological approaches, longitudinal studies, and multiple data points to explore intergenerational differences to analyze how generations effect change in the workplace.},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Definitions of Meaningful Work for Generation X and Millennial Cuspers AU - Beverly Van Hyatt Y1 - 2021/01/12 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11 DO - 10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11 T2 - Journal of Human Resource Management JF - Journal of Human Resource Management JO - Journal of Human Resource Management SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2331-0715 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.11 AB - Objective: In today’s multigenerational workforce, organizational leaders continuously seek methods to retain valued employees. Employees who perceive their work-related values are in alignment with their employer is central to intentions to quit. In this study, generational differences in definitions of meaningful work among the Gen X and Millennials cusp cohorts and between genders were investigated. Method: A quantitative nonexperimental survey approach was applied using self-reported measures of the Comprehensive Meaningful Work Scale (CMWS). Two hundred eleven US-based employees in various professional, semi-professional, and non-professional occupations provided their perceptions of meaningful work. An ANOVA was used as the method of analysis. Results: The results indicated no significant differences in definitions of meaningful work between individuals of Gen X and Millennials on the cusp of their generation. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in definitions of meaningful work between gender of Gen X and Millennial cusp cohorts. The results revealed similarities in definitions of meaningful work among Gen X and Millennial Cuspers and between genders. Conclusions: Employees of all generations pursue meaningful work. Recommendations include the use of qualitative methodological approaches, longitudinal studies, and multiple data points to explore intergenerational differences to analyze how generations effect change in the workplace. VL - 9 IS - 1 ER -
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