Abstract

Generational differences in the workforce have become topics of interest in popular management journals, which are keen to use anecdotes and stereotypes to make recommendations to their readers. However, little empirical research has been done on this topic, especially as it pertains to work/life balance, communication satisfaction and organizational commitment. The current study analyzes the potential generational differences in three industries: banking, teaching and marketing and media in a sample of 138 active members of the workforce from three different generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. Affective and normative commitment, communication satisfaction and work centrality were the outcome variables of this study. Results from this study revealed that only work centrality was significantly different among the surveyed generations. Affective commitment, normative commitment and communication satisfaction showed no differences among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. Various age constructs were also used in this study, including subjective age, perceived relative age and chronological age. Results revealed that all age constructs were related to affective commitment, communication satisfaction, with subjective age having the strongest relationship to the outcome variables. Normative commitment and work centrality were not related to age measures. Implications for managers and future research were discussed.