Study: Baby boomers unhappy in academia

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For many baby boomer college faculty across the country, job satisfaction is a problem.

According to a study conducted at the University of Washington that was released last month, baby boomers in the middle of their lives are less satisfied with their jobs than their older and younger colleagues. However, that might not be the case at MSU.

The study showed professors nationwide might be feeling glum because of salary issues, workload and job duty dissatisfaction. However, Kristen Renn, an associate professor of higher education at MSU, said she works with faculty that seem pleased with their careers.

“Maybe I just have rose-colored glasses, but a lot my friends are happy with their jobs,” Renn said.

The research was conducted at the University of Washington by Kate Quinn, research manager and director of a work-life balance program at the University of Washington, and James Soto, associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Washington. The study was based on the Department of Education’s National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty that was collected in 2003 and surveyed 2,400 full-time faculty across the country.

To analyze the data, Quinn and Soto divided faculty into three categories: Generation Xers born between 1965 and 1980, baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 and traditionalists born between 1900 and 1945. Boomers accounted for 57 percent of those studied. Quinn said midlife stresses unique to the boomer generation may be the cause for the unhappiness.

“While impossible to tell from the data, boomers could be less satisfied than their Xer colleagues with workload because of the sandwich requirements of providing care for both their children and their elderly parents,” Quinn said.

Baby boomers make up more than half of faculty in higher education and consequences of the sandwich effect could be very harmful to the health of colleges and universities, Quinn said.

“As for possible repercussions, because the boomers make up such a high proportion of all U.S. faculty, as well as the leadership of U.S. institutions of higher education, if they are not satisfied they may choose to retire or leave higher education right as the number of predicted college students peaks,” Quinn said.

Although she hasn’t noticed discontent at MSU, Renn said job dissatisfaction in higher education might relate to whether or not a staff member has earned tenure.

“I think tenure track faculty are treated very well. Things are much better for people on the tenure track,” she said.

There are currently 5,052 faculty and academic staff at MSU. Of those, 1,560 have tenure and 450 are working toward tenure, according to the MSU Office of Academic Human Resources.

Heath Bowen, a history graduate student at MSU, hopes to one day be tenured as he continues his career in higher education. Bowen said he has never noticed job dissatisfaction related to age.

“Our department has a pretty good mix of age groups,” he said. “I haven’t seen any sort of line drawn between generations.”

A variety of outside factors can impact a faculty member’s happiness and satisfaction, said Douglas Noverr, senior associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters.

“It’s hard to tell whether it is the job itself or other circumstances,” Noverr said.

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