Project Explanation: Our research is focused on identifying ways that managers can aid their older employees in financial organizations during this new era of work. Along with the proposed suggestions, we also look at the psychological and relational reasoning behind older employees struggling in the current climate.

Joshi, A., Dencker, J. C., Franz, G., & Martocchio, J. J. (2010). Unpacking generational identities in organizations. Academy of management review, 35(3), 392-414.

An important aspect of generational identity are the interactions that happen between the generations both preceding and succeeding any given generation. These interactions can be transitive or resistive– the behaviors/attitudes associated with transitive interactions being cooperation and mutual respect, while the behaviors/attitudes associated with resistive interactions are competition, negative expectations, and biases surrounding people with a different generational identity than oneself. One’s generational identity can be separated into three facets that may be more or less emphasized in different organizational contexts. These three facets are: cohort-based identity, age-based identity, and incumbency-based identity. This article builds a framework for viewing generations based on the organizational context of their place of work, as well as their chronology and specific experiences– allowing managers to look more directly at the consequences of having multiple generations in a workplace. This framework works to find a way to study generations that is more empirical than based on popular perceptions of generations (baby boomer, millennial, etc.).

Kunze, F., Boehm, S. A., & Bruch, H. (2021). It matters how old we feel in organizations: Testing a multilevel model of organizational subjective‐age diversity on employee outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(4), 448-463.

This study on age diversity at an organizational level compares subjective age diversity to chronological age diversity and their resulting effects on the workplace. A model is hypothesized that relates levels of organizational age diversity to social effects in the office. The paper looks at 96 German companies in total with 16,274 employees involved.  Considering the results, the study concludes by giving managers some practical recommendations on how to manage a workplace with considerable age diversity.

Lowell, & Morris, J. (2019). Leading Changes to Professional Training in the Multigenerational Office: Generational Attitudes and Preferences toward Learning and Technology. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 32(2), 111–135.

This article discusses supporting and training their employees in technology to be a more valuable resource for businesses and other employees. This article talks about the assistance that is needed while the workforce generations are always changing, including generational attitudes and preferences concerning learning new technology. Training leaders will offer help in the learning process of all the incoming multigenerational workforce. Assistance is needed to better help the process of training different kinds of people in the workforce and provide the proper guidance that is needed in technology training.

Tang, N. (2021). Cognitive abilities, self-efficacy, and financial behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 87, 102447.

This paper analyzes the cognitive abilities associated with financial behavior across older demographics in the United States (U.S.) and how these individuals need assistance in upkeeping the corresponding skills. Essentially, this paper highlights two specific avenues in which cognitive competency may affect financial behavior: ability and self-efficacy. Supported by scientific evidence, cognitive functions such as memory, perception, and decision-making deteriorate with age. The gradual deterioration in cognitive function makes for a harder transition not only in your day-to-day life, but the workplace as well, especially in the current climate across financial organizations. Using the information and data provided in this journal, managers can apply the implicated solutions in their workplace to guide their older employees toward the same success as younger subordinates.

Wood, G., Wilkinson, A., & Harcourt, M. (2008). Age discrimination and working life: Perspectives and contestations–a review of the contemporary literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 10(4), 425-442.

This review highlights some of the principal issues and debates surrounding age discrimination at the workplace. Essentially, the existing research in this area can be divided into three broad, although somewhat overlapping, categories. The first explores the underlying causes and consequences of age discrimination at the workplace from one or other theoretical tradition. The second broad body of literature encompasses empirical studies which document the nature and extent of age discrimination, based on the use of official statistics, and/or firm-level survey evidence. The third explores the effects of various governmental initiatives to reduce the incidence of age discrimination and policy options in this area. Even though age discrimination is widely accepted to be prevalent, its causes are rather more contentious. Age discrimination has variously been ascribed to market imperfections, the product of rational choices and the effects of long-term changes in the nature of the economy. Policy interventions may be prompted by economic pressure, demographic changes or cultural shifts, and have involved voluntary codes as well as legislation. Although voluntary codes have generally proved ineffective, the literature indicates that more formal regulations may still have only limited efficacy, underscoring the deeply rooted nature of age discrimination in society.

 

Authors:

Nina Allen

Julie Carmona

Anders Forslund

Connor Kazanjian

Zoe Ritz