Explaining Age Differences in the Motivating Potential of Intergenerational Contact at Work

Burmeister, A., Hirschi, A., & Zacher, H. (in press). Explaining age differences in the motivating potential of intergenerational contact at work. Work, Aging and Retirement.

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Abstract

Understanding the effects of intergenerational contact at work is important given aging and increasingly age-diverse workforces. The aim of this research was to better understand who derives motivational benefits from intergenerational contact, and the processes by which this occurs. To do so, we adopted a motivational lens grounded in need-based theories of work motivation and lifespan development theory. We argue that the motivating effect of intergenerational contact on work engagement via sense of belonging is more pronounced for older compared to younger employees due to changes in goal priorities across the lifespan. Specifically, we posit the generativity motive and perceived remaining time at work as lifespan-related mechanisms that explain the moderating effects of age on the links between intergenerational contact and work engagement. In Study 1, a laboratory experiment with 45 younger and 45 older participants in Switzerland, we found support for a causal effect of intergenerational contact on sense of belonging. In Study 2, a three-wave field study with 560 employees in Germany, we found that sense of belonging mediated the relation between intergenerational contact and work engagement. Further, perceived remaining time at work explained the moderating effect of age on the link between sense of belonging and work engagement. By highlighting age differences in the motivating potential of intergenerational contact, we advance research on intergroup contact, employee motivation, and workforce aging.

Keywords: workforce aging; intergenerational potential; life span development theory; intergroup contact theory; need-based theories of work motivation

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Reaching the heart or the mind? Test of two theory-based training programs to improve interactions between age-diverse coworkers.

Burmeister, A., Gerpott, F. H., Hirschi, A., Scheibe, S., Pak, K., & Kooij, D. (2020). Reaching the heart or the mind? Test of two theory-based training programs to improve interactions between age-diverse coworkers. Academy of Management Learning & Education. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2019.0348

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Abstract

Due to demographic change, age diversity is increasing in many organizations. We aimed to understand how organizations can use age diversity training to overcome the challenges and realize the benefits of an age-diverse workforce. We built on the two predominant theoretical perspectives in the diversity literature–social identity theory and the information/decision-making perspective–to advance a dual pathway model and to develop two age diversity training programs: An identity- oriented training that helps organizations to overcome the challenges of age diversity by “speaking to the heart” of age-diverse coworkers and a knowledge-oriented training that helps organizations to realize the benefits of age diversity by “speaking to the mind” of age-diverse coworkers. We tested both training programs in a randomized controlled field experiment with age-diverse coworker dyads. We found that the identity-oriented training facilitated contact quality as a socioemotional outcome through increased levels of coworker’s perceived similarity and also reduced stereotype threat. The knowledge-oriented training increased knowledge transfer as a sociocognitive outcome through increased levels of coworker’s perceived knowledge utility and transactive memory. In a pilot training integration study, we made a first attempt to develop and test an integrated training program. Our findings advance research on the evidence-based management of age diversity.

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Understanding the motivational benefits of knowledge transfer for older and younger workers in age-diverse coworker dyad

Burmeister A., Wang, M., & Hirschi, A. (2020). Understanding the motivational benefits of knowledge transfer for older and younger workers in age-diverse coworker dyads: An actor-partner interdependence model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(7), 748-759. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000466

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Abstract

The growing age diversity in organizations in most industrialized economies provides opportunities to motivate both older and younger workers by enabling them to benefit from each other through knowledge transfer. In this study, we integrate self-determination theory with socio-emotional selectivity theory to argue that the alignment between workers’ age and their roles in knowledge transfer can generate motivational benefits for them. More specifically, we argue that receiving knowledge from coworkers (i.e., actor knowledge receiving) is more closely aligned with younger workers’ goal priorities, while having coworkers receive one’s knowledge (i.e., partner knowledge receiving) is more closely aligned with older workers’ goal priorities. We expect that these motivational benefits manifest in younger and older workers’ need fulfillment at work, which can shape their subsequent intention to remain with the organization. We used an actor-partner interdependence model to test our hypotheses with time-lagged data from a sample of 173 age-diverse coworker dyads, and found support for most of our hypotheses. The age-specific motivational perspective that we adopt has implications for self-determination theory and research on knowledge transfer and mentoring.

Keywords

socio-emotional selectivity theory, self-determination theory, work motivation, employee retention, mentoring, actor-partner interdependence model

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