Preparing for the Next Generation: Profiles of Millennial City Managers and Their Approach to the Job

• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X19889094
• Author: Morgan D. Vogel,Lucas J. Casey
• Date: 01 June 2019
• Published date: 01 June 2019
• Subject Matter: Governance Matters

Governance Matters

Preparing for the Next

Generation: Profiles of Millennial

City Managers and Their

Approach to the Job

Lucas J. Casey

1

and Morgan D. Vogel

1

Abstract

Millennials make up the largest share of the U.S. workforce; prioritize work–life balance, personal

growth, and a sense of community; and may be well suited for a public service sector facing a wave of

retirements. Recommendations for attracting millennials suggest cultural shifts within public

administration are needed, yet knowledge remains limited on millennials already in public man-

agement. This article recaps the ongoing generational transition and helps fill these knowledge gaps

with interviews of four millennial-aged city managers in Iowa. If validated by further research, these

exploratory findings suggest millennial city managers will navigate the profession without requiring

wholescale cultural shifts.

Keywords

millennials, generations, public management, city management, local government

The U.S. workforceis in the midst of a profound

generational transformation. Baby boomers,

born between 1946 and 1964 and the largest

generation in the nation’s history at 76 million

(Fry 2018), are leaving the workforce in large

numbers. Since 2010, an average of 2.2 million

baby boomers exitedthe workforce each year or

about 5,900 daily (Fry 2019).

In the public sector, a majority of federal

and state senior executives are eligible for

retirement(Carty2010)andmorethan25per-

cent of local government managers are

55 years of age or older (Kellar 2016b).

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis-

tics (2019), the median age of public adminis-

tration industry workers in 2018—which

includes federal, state, and local government

employees—was more than three years older

than the general workforce (see Table 1).

Further, the International City/County Man-

agement Association’s (ICMA) most recent

State of the Profession Survey (2013) reported

64 percent of city manager respondents were

50 years old or older. Moreover, delayed

retirements of baby boomers during the 2008

financial crisis (Fry 2019) and possible depar-

tures among the smaller Generation X cohort

due to frustration with the lack of advance-

ment opportunities (Svara 2010) likely

1

School of Public Administration, University of Nebraska at

Omaha, NE, USA

Corresponding Author:

Lucas J. Casey, School of Public Administration, University

of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street CPACS,

Omaha, NE 68182, USA.

Email: ljcasey@unomaha.edu

State and Local GovernmentReview

2019, Vol. 51(2) 122-133

ªThe Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X19889094

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