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Generationally Based Differences in the Workplace: Is There a There There?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2015

David P. Costanza  and
Lisa M. Finkelstein
David P. Costanza*
Affiliation:
Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication, The George Washington University
Lisa M. Finkelstein
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to David P. Costanza, Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication, The George Washington University, 600 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052. E-mail: dcostanz@gwu.edu
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Abstract

Stereotypes about generational differences in the workplace abound, and interventions for helping organizations and managers to deal with these supposed differences are increasing. In addition to popular press articles describing the differences and extolling the practices and strategies to deal with them, there are a growing number of researchers who are attempting to establish that there are such differences. Overall, however, there is little solid empirical evidence supporting generationally based differences and almost no theory behind why such differences should even exist. The purposes of this focal article are to explore the myths surrounding generations, to review the risks in using generations in organizational decisions, and to make recommendations for practitioners and researchers on how to proceed in this area.

Keywords

generationsworkplacestereotypesmyths
Type
Focal Article
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , September 2015 , pp. 308 - 323
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2015 

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