Table 1:
Characteristics and workplaces of the samples of Gen X (n = 110), Gen Y (n = 170) and Gen Z (n = 91) MLTs.
| Gen X | Gen Y | Gen Z | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | ||||
| Female, n (%) | 102 of 110 (92.7%) | 159 of 170 (93.5%) | 88 of 91 (96.7%) | 349 of 371 (94.1%) |
| Having children, n (%) | 90 of 110 (81.8%) | 58 of 170 (34.1%) | 1 of 90 (1.1%) | 149 of 371 (40.2%) |
| Weekly working hours, mean (SD) | 33.9 (7.39) | 34.63 (8.13) | 36.46 (7.31) | 34.87 (7.76) |
| Workplaces: institution (multiple assignments possible) | ||||
| Public hospital n (%) | 80 of 110 (72.7%) | 111 of 170 (65.3%) | 63 of 91 (69.2%) | 254 of 371 (68.5%) |
| University n (%) | 17 of 110 (15.5%) | 21 of 170 (12.4%) | 9 of 91 (9.9%) | 47 of 371 (12.7%) |
| Private laboratory n (%) | 6 of 110 (5.5%) | 23 of 170 (13.5%) | 16 of 91 (7.6%) | 45 of 371 (12.1%) |
| Private hospital n (%) | 5 of 110 (4.5%) | 10 of 170 (5.9%) | 2 of 91 (2.2%) | 17 of 371 (4.6%) |
| Research institute n (%) | 4 of 110 (3.6%) | 0 of 170 (0%) | 4 of 91 (4.4%) | 8 of 371 (2.2%) |
| Workplaces: department (multiple assignments possible) | ||||
| Central laboratory n (%) | 36 of 110 (32.7%) | 50 of 170 (29.4%) | 27 of 91 (29.7%) | 113 of 371 (30.5%) |
| Haematology n (%) | 29 of 110 (26.4%) | 27 of 170 (15.9%) | 28 of 91 (30.8%) | 84 of 371 (22.6%) |
| Immunohematology n (%) | 23 of 110 (20.9%) | 32 of 170 (18.8%) | 16 of 91 (17.6%) | 71 of 371(19.1%) |
| Molecular biology n (%) | 8 of 110 (7.3%) | 31 of 170 (18.2%) | 19 of 91 (20.9%) | 58 of 371 (15.6%) |
| Immunology n (%) | 16 of 110 (14.5%) | 17 of 170 (10%) | 14 of 91 (15.4%) | 47 of 371 (12.7%) |
| Functional diagnostics (cardiology, neurology, pneumology) n (%) | 18 of 110 (16.4%) | 11 of 170 (6.5%) | 11 of 91 (12.1%) | 40 of 371 (10.8%) |
| Microbiology n (%) | 7 of 110 (6.4%) | 20 of 170 (11.8%) | 14 of 91 (15.4%) | 41 of 371 (11.1%) |
| Histology n (%) | 8 of 110 (7.3%) | 17 of 170 (10%) | 9 of 91 (9.9%) | 34 of 371 (9.2%) |
[i] MLT… Medical Laboratory Technician, n represents the number of observations
Table 2:
Aspects of job satisfaction in Gen X (n = 110), Gen Y (n = 170), and Gen Z (n = 91) MLTs.
| Gen X (mean, sd) | Gen Y (mean, sd) | Gen Z (mean, sd) | Degrees of freedom (between, within) | F | p | ω2 | Effect of size interpretation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall job satisfaction | 4.88 (1.63) | 4.66 (1.65) | 5.32 (1.55) | 2, 368 | 4.899 | .008 | .02 | small |
| Autonomy | 4.03 (1.87) | 4.27 (1.76) | 4.74 (1.75) | 2, 368 | 3.983 | .019 | .02 | small |
| Recognition | 4.14 (2.06) | 3.99 (1.93) | 4.34 (1.96) | 2, 368 | .949 | .388 | .00 | negligible |
| Mentoring and peer support | 4.25 (2.11) | 4.18 (1.87) | 4.93 (1.84) | 2, 368‡ | 4.875 | .008 | .02 | small |
| Working times satisfaction | 5.50 (1.54) | 5.45 (1.61) | 5.53 (1.58) | 2, 368 | .073 | .930 | .00 | negligible |
| Stress | 5.17 (1.64) | 5.02 (1.63) | 4.51 (1.64) | 2, 368 | 4.530 | .011 | .02 | small |
| Income – realization | 5.14 (1.52) | 4.71 (1.58) | 5.49 (1.45) | 2, 368 | 8.278 | <.001 | .04 | small |
| Work-life balance – realization | 4.31 (1.66) | 4.55 (1.74) | 5.00 (1.67) | 2, 368 | 4.197 | .016 | .02 | small |
| Positive impact – realization | 5.31 (1.76) | 5.30 (1.52) | 5.66 (1.39) | 2, 368‡ | 1.771 | .172 | .00 | negligible |
| Positive relationships realization | 5.10 (1.52) | 5.25 (1.28) | 5.43 (1.49) | 2, 368 | 1.346 | .261 | .00 | negligible |
| Learning and development – realization | 4.31 (1.75) | 4.11 (1.85) | 4.32 (1.66) | 2, 368 | 0.629 | .534 | .00 | negligible |
| Supervisors - realization | 4.22 (1.97) | 4.24 (1.89) | 4.63 (2.03) | 2, 368 | 1.432 | .240 | .01 | small |
p-values derived from overall analysis of variance (ANOVA) with effect sizes ω2 - interpretation: ω2 .01, .06 and .14 represents small, medium, and large effects, respectively (Ferguson, 2016).
Variables self-rated on a 7-point Likert scale where 7 reflects the most positive outcome.
Table 3:
Gap between importance and realization in aspects of career success (Mayrhofer et al., 2016).
| Importance (median, IQR) | Realization (median, IQR) | z | p | r | Effect size interpretation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen X (n = 110) | ||||||
| Relationships | 7 (6.7) | 5 (4.6) | −6.78 | <.001 | −0.46 | medium |
| Learning and development | 7 (6.7) | 4 (3.6) | −6.98 | <.001 | −0.47 | medium |
| Work-life balance | 7 (6.7) | 4.5 (3.6) | −7.68 | <.001 | −0.52 | large |
| Income | 7 (6.7) | 5.5 (4.6) | −5.82 | <.001 | −0.39 | medium |
| Meaningful contribution | 7 (6.7) | 6 (4.7) | −6.01 | <.001 | −0.41 | medium |
| Supervisors | 7 (6.7) | 4 (2.6) | −7.42 | <.001 | −0.50 | large |
| Gen Y (n = 169) | ||||||
| Relationships | 7 (6.7) | 5 (5.6) | −8.88 | <.001 | −0.48 | medium |
| Learning and development | 7 (6.7) | 4 (3.6) | −9.85 | <.001 | −0.54 | large |
| Work-life balance | 7 (7.7) | 5 (3.6) | −9.59 | <.001 | −0.52 | large |
| Income | 7 (6.7) | 5 (4.6) | −9.96 | <.001 | −0.54 | large |
| Meaningful contribution | 7 (6.7) | 6 (4.7) | −7.50 | <.001 | −0.41 | medium |
| Supervisors | 7 (6.7) | 4 (2.75.6) | −9.78 | <.001 | −0.53 | large |
| Gen Z (n = 91) | ||||||
| Relationships | 7 (6.7) | 6 (5.7) | −5.76 | <.001 | −0.43 | medium |
| Learning and development | 7 (5.7) | 4 (3.5) | −7.05 | <.001 | −0.52 | large |
| Work-life balance | 7 (7.7) | 5 (4.6) | −6.53 | <.001 | −0.48 | medium |
| Income | 7 (6.7) | 6 (5.7) | −4.96 | <.001 | −0.37 | medium |
| Meaningful contribution | 7 (6.7) | 6 (5.7) | −2.81 | .005 | −0.21 | medium |
| Supervisors | 7 (6.7) | 5 (3.6) | −5.91 | <.001 | −0.44 | medium |
[i] p-values derived from Wilcoxon-tests with test statistic r calculated as z/sqrt(n), where n represents the number of observations – interpretation: r .1, .3 and .5 represents small, medium, and large effects, respectively (Cohen, 1988)/Variables self-rated on a 7-point Likert scale where 7 reflects the most positive outcome.
[ii] IQR= interquartile range.
Table 4:
Predictors of overall job satisfaction in MLTs.
| b | SE b | ß | Effect size interpretation | VIF | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen X (n = 110, R2 = .69, p < .001, Durbin-Watson: 2.02) | ||||||
| Constant | −0.20 | 0.41 | .961 | |||
| Recognition | 0.38 | 0.06 | .48 | medium | 2.06 | <.001 |
| Relationships – realization | 0.32 | 0.68 | .30 | medium | 1.47 | <.001 |
| Working times satisfaction | 0.19 | 0.06 | .18 | small | 1.21 | .003 |
| Work Life Balance – realization | 0.17 | 0.07 | .18 | small | 1.27 | .014 |
| Supervisor – realization | −0.13 | 0.59 | −.16 | small | 1.84 | .034 |
| Learning and development – realization | 0.11 | 0.06 | .12 | small | 1.47 | .073 |
| Gen Y (n = 169, Corr. R2 = .57, p < .001, Durbin-Watson: 1.80) | ||||||
| Constant | 0.49 | 0.41 | .906 | |||
| Recognition | 0.33 | 0.06 | .39 | medium | 1.86 | <.001 |
| Relationships - realization | 0.24 | 0.08 | .18 | small | 1.40 | .002 |
| Autonomy | 0.17 | 0.06 | .18 | small | 1.58 | .005 |
| Work-life balance – realization | 0.15 | 0.06 | .17 | small | 1.37 | .009 |
| Meaningful contribution – realization | 0.11 | 0.06 | .11 | small | 1.26 | .066 |
| Gen Z (n = 91, Corr. R2 = .60, p < .001, Durbin-Watson: 1.95) | ||||||
| Constant | 1.25 | 0.66 | .061 | |||
| Recognition | 0.36 | 0.08 | .45 | medium | 2.43 | <.001 |
| Working times satisfaction | 0.25 | 0.07 | .25 | small | 1.18 | <.001 |
| Autonomy | 0.19 | 0.07 | .21 | small | 1.52 | .012 |
| Relationships – realization | 0.21 | 0.09 | .20 | small | 1.54 | .016 |
| Income – realization | −.16 | 0.09 | −.15 | small | 1.42 | .069 |
[i] Multiple linear regression with stepwise removal of least useful predictors by means of backward elimination and arranged by descending ß. Dependent and independent variables self-rated on a 7-point Likert scale where 7 reflects the most positive outcome. b = regression coefficient, SE = standard error, ß = standardised regression coefficient, VIF = variance inflation factor. Interpretation ß: .1, .3, and .5 represent small, medium, and large effects, respectively (Cohen, 1988).