Recruitment and retention of Generation X accountants: An analysis of motivational factors and their influence

Generation Xers in the United States account for 36% of the workforce. While the number of Generation X employees is increasing in general in American corporations, research indicates that there has been a continual shortage of Generation X Accountants employed in their discipline since 1993. This study explored reasons for the growing shortage of Generation X Accountants and presented variables that may result in an increase in the recruitment and retention of Generation X Accountants based on motivational factors. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and McGregor's motivation theory x and y were utilized to examine attitudes and motivational factors that stimulate and increase employee satisfaction leading to increased employee recruitment and retention. There were several themes that emerged from the study as a result of the interviews and questionnaire. The themes extracted from the interview were; compensation, work/life balance, job security, recognition and job satisfaction. The themes extracted from the questionnaire were; employer loyalty, employer valuation, intrinsic work motivation, job enlargement, advancement and job responsibility. The study found that while there were slight differences in motivating factors for each generation of accountants, overall there were few generational differences in the motivating power of the identified themes of the study. The research determined that factors other than generation have a greater impact on the accountant's motivation. The other factors were more significant than generation in determining the motivation of the accountants.