Can Diversity Management Improve Job Satisfaction for Military Veterans in the Federal Government?

• Published date: 01 January 2019
• Date: 01 January 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/0275074018783005
• Author: Chris Birdsall,Matthew Vanderschuere
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074018783005

American Review of Public Administration

2019, Vol. 49(1) 116 –127

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0275074018783005

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Article

Introduction

The federal government has a long history of providing mili-

tary veterans employment opportunities following their mili-

tary service (Johnson, 2014; Lewis, 2013). Often, the

intensity of veteran hiring within the federal government is

dependent upon the political and economic environment, as

well as military force reductions following military conflicts,

which often spur political action to ensure veterans are suc-

cessfully reintegrated into the civilian workforce (Johnson,

2014). Increased emphasis on veteran hiring into the federal

government occurred following the Vietnam and the first

Gulf War, and is once again a major initiative following the

conclusion of post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The

2009 Veteran Employment Initiative directed federal agen-

cies to develop and implement veteran hiring programs, sig-

nificantly increasing the proportion of veterans working in

the federal government. In 2016, 31.1% of all new federal

hires and 31.1% of the federal executive branch workforce

were military veterans (U.S. Office of Personnel Management

[OPM], 2017).

Despite the large number of veterans working in the fed-

eral government, limited empirical research addresses how

veterans integrate into federal service. Public management

and human resource scholarship has examined how employee

characteristics, such as race, gender, education, and tenure

are related to performance, turnover, and job satisfaction, but

veteran status has not been included in this research (Cotton

& Tuttle, 1986; Fernandez, Resh, Moldogaziev, & Oberfield,

2015; Kim & Min Park, 2014; Langbein & Stazyk, 2013; D.

Pitts, 2009). This is troubling, as new-hire veterans have

lower retention rates than new-hire nonveterans across fed-

eral agencies (U.S. OPM, 2017). There is a need, then, for

research examining how veterans integrate into federal ser-

vice. To help address this gap, we explore how veteran sta-

tus, as a source of identity and values, is associated with job

satisfaction, as previous research demonstrates job satisfac-

tion is a key variable associated with employee turnover and

performance (Llorens & Stazyk, 2011; Moynihan & Pandey,

2008; D. Pitts, Marvel, & Fernandez, 2011). In addition, we

783005ARPXXX10.1177/0275074018783005The American Review of Public AdministrationVanderschuere and Birdsall

research-article2018

1American University, Washington, DC, USA

2Boise State University, ID, USA

Corresponding Author:

Matthew Vanderschuere, Department of Public Administration & Policy,

American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Ward Circle

Building, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20016-8070, USA.

Email: mvander@american.edu

Can Diversity Management Improve Job

Satisfaction for Military Veterans in the

Federal Government?

Matthew Vanderschuere1 and Chris Birdsall2

Abstract

On November 9, 2009, Executive Order 13518 established the Veterans Employment Initiative and invigorated veteran

hiring within the federal government. By fiscal year 2016, 635,266 veterans accounted for 31% of the federal workforce,

an increase of over 5% in 7 years. To account for this growing employee demographic, the Federal Employee Viewpoint

Survey began tracking veteran status in 2012 and analysis of these data show that veterans are more likely to express

turnover intention than nonveterans. This raises a troubling question: Is the policy objective of the Veterans Hiring Initiative

achieved if these veterans are more likely to turnover than nonveterans? This article explores whether diversity management

mitigates lower job satisfaction levels among military veterans working for the federal government and whether veterans

might be considered a stand-alone demographic in diversity scholarship. This study finds that perceptions of fair and effective

diversity management are associated with higher job satisfaction among veteran employees, but slightly less so than among

nonveterans. The results demonstrate that veterans are a unique employee demographic by showing statistically significant

differences in job satisfaction between veterans and nonveterans while controlling for other demographics. Overall, this

article contributes to public management research by highlighting military veteran employees and offering insight into an

understudied employee population accounting for approximately 31% of the federal workforce.

Keywords

military veterans, diversity management