Working Paper Series 2015/48/OB Generational Diversity at Work: A Systematic Review of the Research Ian C. Woodward INSEAD,
[email protected] Pisitta Vongswasdi INSEAD,
[email protected] Elizabeth A. More Australian Institute of Management,
[email protected] July 2015 - Version 1.0 Note: This paper is part of an ongoing series of research projects in INSEAD’s Leadership and Communication Research Group. For the first time in modern history, workplace demographics now span up to four distinct generations. Therefore, intergenerational diversity is a timely issue, gathering increasing interest amongst academics, organizations and business executives. However, the evidence base in scholarly research on generational diversity at work is often contradictory and unclear. In this study we aim to identify and examine existing empirical research on generational differences in work-related characteristics to inform future focal areas for generational research related to leadership and management; as well as to synthesize the existing evidence of generational differences in a variety of work- related characteristics. We conduct a systematic review of the literature to synthesize empirical research in a rigorous manner (following a disciplined screening process, a final sample of 50 studies is examined). In the analysis, six key themes emerge: communication and technology; work motivators or preferred job characteristics; work values; work attitudes; workplace/career behaviors; and leadership preferences or behaviors. Our systematic review also reveals that the majority of empirical studies provide results which fully or partially support the existence of generational diversity; highlighting the importance of future research to address the potential differing needs and characteristics of each generation as they interact and work within organizations.