Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Research in Human Resource Management
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Age Diversity in Workplaces: Stereotypes, Acceptance and Potential Conflict
Velli Parts, Pille Lepik
ABSTRACT:
Age diversity at work is the reality organizations face today and even more in the future. The objective of this study was to research (1) whether age diversity is perceived as a source of conflict in workplaces; (2) do different age-groups perceive the acceptance of age-related differences in work environment in a similar way; (3) which age-related stereotypes are held concerning their own age group, significantly younger and older employees, and are those stereotypes related to accepting or not-accepting age diversity in work environment. Using data from web-based survey (n=188) we found that 30% of respondents agree that there are lot of disagreements in workgroups where employees of different ages work together; 22% consider work atmosphere in such groups too tense as employees of different ages emphasize different things and have different values; 15% of respondents agree that conflicts arise easily in age-diverse workgroups. 69% of respondents think that colleagues significantly younger or older than themselves have different workstyle, and 22-25% agree that colleagues older or younger than themselves usually talk about topics they are not interested in and are also not interested in making friends with them. Despite that, most respondents (73-96%) told that they like to talk to colleagues of different ages, it does not make them feel uncomfortable, and people work best together when they are not the same age. All age groups have mainly positive stereotypes about their own group and others. Implications: organisations where employees of diverse age groups work together must acknowledge the possibility of conflicts and difficulties arising from different workstyles.
keywords: age diversity; age-related stereotypes; age-related conflicts; workplace intergenerational climate