INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH
Figure 3: Perceived Opportunities for Advancement vs. Probability of Leaving the PHL Workforce
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The report confirms the conventional
wisdom that the overall compensation
package and flexibility provided in the
public sector workplace are incentives
for Millennial and Generation X staff
who intend to stay in the PHL workforce.
On the other hand, the report showed
that Millennials were generally less
likely to report being satisfied with their
jobs than their older counterparts. This
was especially concerning as the report
showed a strong association between
intent to leave the PHL workforce within
five years and levels of dissatisfaction.
Therefore, the PHL community needs
to experiment with other incentives
to appeal to this generation for both
recruitment and retention. While we
can continue to voice the need for better
salaries, we can also offer other creative
incentives that matter in the work
environment and culture.
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
Thinking Creatively
Creative solutions for recruitment
and retention might include more
opportunities for training, tuition
reimbursement or student loan deferral,
flex schedules or job sharing with benefits.
The report shows that Millennials, more
than other generations, valued continuing
education and, for this group especially,
those who valued continuing education
and training were less likely to report job
satisfaction—perhaps indicating that they
do not find these opportunities currently
in the public health laboratory (See Figure
2). Surprisingly, while perceptions of
opportunities for growth were highly
associated with intention to stay for
Generation X, this was not the case for
Millennials. For this group, opportunities
for growth did not seem to matter in their
decisions to leave (See Figure 3).
APHL.org
The Knowledge Management Committee
formed a new workgroup at their annual
in-person meeting in September 2018
to address this complex dynamic for
attracting and engaging Millennials.
The workgroup will collect and evaluate
strategies for recruitment and retention,
gathering not only practices that
worked well but also those that were
not successful. Part of this effort will be
hearing lessons learned from laboratory
leaders. Another will be listening to the
Millennials and better understanding
their work environment needs. We
invite APHL members to share your
creativity, experience and innovation to
find practical solutions that PHLs can
implement to attract, support and sustain
this younger generation. n
To learn more about this workgroup or get
involved, contact [email protected].
Fall 2018 LAB MATTERS
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