Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T11:50:45.753Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Using Lifespan Developmental Theory and Methods as a Viable Alternative to the Study of Generational Differences at Work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2015

Hannes Zacher
Hannes Zacher*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Groningen
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Hannes Zacher, Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712TS Groningen, the Netherlands. E-mail: h.zacher@rug.nl
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

I agree with Costanza and Finkelstein (2015) that it is futile to further invest in the study of generational differences in the work context due to a lack of appropriate theory and methods. The key problem with the generations concept is that splitting continuous variables such as age or time into a few discrete units involves arbitrary cutoffs and atheoretical groupings of individuals (e.g., stating that all people born between the early 1960s and early 1980s belong to Generation X). As noted by methodologists, this procedure leads to a loss of information about individuals and reduced statistical power (MacCallum, Zhang, Preacher, & Rucker, 2002). Due to these conceptual and methodological limitations, I regard it as very difficult if not impossible to develop a “comprehensive theory of generations” (Costanza & Finkelstein, p. 20) and to rigorously examine generational differences at work in empirical studies.

Type
Commentaries
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , September 2015 , pp. 342 - 346
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baltes, P. B. (1968). Longitudinal and cross-sectional sequences in the study of age and generation effects. Human Development, 11, 145–171. doi:10.1159/000270604Google Scholar
Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology, 23, 611–626. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.23.5.611CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costanza, D. P., & Finkelstein, L. M. (2015). Generationally based differences in the workplace: Is there a there there? Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 8 (4), 308–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerstorf, D., Ram, N., Hoppmann, C., Willis, S. L., & Schaie, K. W. (2011). Cohort differences in cognitive aging and terminal decline in the Seattle Longitudinal Study. Developmental Psychology, 47, 1026–1041. doi:10.1037/a0023426CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hofer, S. M., & Sliwinski, M. J. (2006). Design and analysis of longitudinal studies on aging. In Birren, J. E. & Schaie, K. W. (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (6th ed., pp. 15–37). Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Joshi, A., Dencker, J. C., & Franz, G. (2011). Generations in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 31, 177–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joshi, A., Dencker, J. C., Franz, G., & Martocchio, J. J. (2010). Unpacking generational identities in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 35, 392–414.Google Scholar
Lyons, S., & Kuron, L. (2014). Generational differences in the workplace: A review of the evidence and directions for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, S139–S157. doi:10.1002/job.1913CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacCallum, R. C., Zhang, S., Preacher, K. J., & Rucker, D. D. (2002). On the practice of dichotomization of quantitative variables. Psychological Methods, 7, 19–40. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.19Google Scholar
Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2008). The relationship of age to ten dimensions of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 392–423. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.93.2.392Google Scholar
Rudolph, C. W., & Zacher, H. (2015). Intergenerational perceptions and conflicts in multi-age and multigenerational work environments. In Finkelstein, L. M., Truxillo, D. M., Fraccaroli, F., & Kanfer, R. (Eds.), Facing the challenges of a multi-age workforce: A use-inspired approach (pp. 253–282). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Schaie, K. W. (2013). Developmental influences on adult intelligence: The Seattle Longitudinal Study (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Weiss, D. (2014). What will remain when we are gone? Finitude and generation identity in the second half of life. Psychology and Aging, 29, 554–562. doi:10.1037/a0036728Google Scholar
Weiss, D., & Lang, F. R. (2009). Thinking about my generation: Adaptive effects of a dual identity in later adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 24, 729–734.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zacher, H. (2015). Successful aging at work. Work, Aging, and Retirement, 1 (1), 4–25. doi:10.1093/workar/wau006Google Scholar