The influence of the organisational culture of individual excellence in academia on work engagement and turnover intentions of early-career academics: a mixed-method approach

Abstract

Over the last years, the well-being of early-career academics is declining. At the same time, a culture of individual excellence has become the norm in academia. This research focuses on the consequences of a culture of individual excellence on the work engagement and turnover intentions of early-career academics. Conversely, it focuses on the influence of a high cohesive and participative culture on the work engagement and turnover intentions of early-career academics. Subsequently, using an mixed method approach with an exploratory sequential design, two studies were conducted. A longitudinal Study 1 (quantitative; N = 181) showed that a culture of individual excellence does not lead to lower work engagement or higher turnover intentions. However, it showed that high participation and supervisor support had a positive influence on work engagement. The second qualitative interview study (N = 8) elaborated and explained the results by showing that the ambition of early-career academics may be a crucial factor in perceiving a culture of individual excellence. Moreover in Study 2, the early-career academics mentioned two improvements that would help to improve the organisational culture in academia: re-evaluation of the work time in education and re-evaluation of the assessment system. Hence, a decrease in pressure on the research output and a fair representation of work hours for teaching can establish a healthier and sustainable organisational culture.