The multi-generational workforce: Workplace flexibility and engagement

Pitt‐Catsouphes, Marcie; Matz-Costa, Christina

doi:10.1080/13668800802021906

Cited by 133 publications

(109 citation statements)

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“…However, because flexibility HRM has primarily been designed for middle-aged workers with children (Allen et al, 2013), it is necessary to investigate the effects of flexibility for younger generations, as well as older workers (Bal, De 4 Jong, Jansen, & Bakker, 2012;Kooij et al, 2013). To investigate this, it is essential to differentiate between the effects age can have on the outcomes of flexibility HRM.Both literatures on younger workers (e.g., Hess & Jepsen, 2009;Lub, Bijvank, Bal, Blomme, & Schalk, 2012) and older workers Pitt-Catsouphes & Matz-Costa, 2008) have stressed the importance of flexibility in how employees conduct their work, and how work is combined with other aspects in life. Generation theory (Twenge et al, 2010(Twenge et al, , 2012 predicts that younger workers attach more value to flexibility at work and hence become more emotionally affected when they have flexibility.…”

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“…Employee engagement is defined as a positive work-related state of mind characterized by vigor and dedication to the job (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). Engagement is of 5 importance in relation to flexibility HRM, because flexibility HRM is designed to retain a balance between work obligations and private obligations, through which employees can stay and become engaged in their work (Pitt-Catsouphes & Matz-Costa, 2008). Moreover, we investigate the effectiveness of flexibility HRM for younger and for older workers.…”

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From flexibility human resource management to employee engagement and perceived job performance across the lifespan: A multisample study

Bal

Lange

2014

J Occupat & Organ Psyc

182

173

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This study investigated the effects of flexibility HRM on employee outcomes over time, as well as the role of age in these relations. Based on work adjustment theory and AMO-theory, it was predicted that availability and use of flexibility HRM would be positively related to employee engagement, as well as higher job performance. Moreover, we postulated different hypotheses regarding the role of employee age. While generation theory predicts that younger generations would react more strongly to flexibility HRM in relation to engagement, SOC-theory of aging predicts that older workers respond more strongly in relation to job performance. A longitudinal study among US employees and a study among employees in 11 countries across the world showed that engagement mediated the relationships between availability of flexibility HRM and job performance. Moreover, we found partial support for the moderating role of age in the relations of flexibility HRM with the outcomes: flexibility HRM was important for younger workers to enhance engagement, while for older workers it enhanced their job performance. The study shows that the effectiveness of flexibility HRM depends upon employee age and the type of outcome involved, and consequently theory on flexibility at work should take the age of employees into account.Practitioners Points:1. Flexibility HRM can be used by organizations to enhance younger workers' engagement, while it can be used for older workers to enhance their job performance. 2. It is important for organizations to not only offer flexibility to their employees, but also to make sure that employees take advantage of these HR practices. 3. Flexibility HRM is important across the world, because it enables people across the world to balance demands from work as well as from private life.Keywords: Flexibility HRM, Engagement, Older Workers, Employee Age, SOC-Theory; Generation Differences 3 Many countries across the world face rapid demographic changes, such as the aging of the workforce, and the entrance of a new generation of employees, the so-called Generation Y (Twenge, Campbell, Hoffman, & Lance, 2010; United Nations, 2009). The baby boom generation (born between 1946 and 1965) is becoming older and birth rates have decreased, resulting in a workforce that will increasingly be composed of older workers and fewer younger workers.Therefore, organizations have to invest more effort in being attractive employers for younger as well as for older workers. It has been proposed that key to the retention of ageing workers is offering workplace flexibility (Hill et al., 2008). However, theory of workplace flexibility has not yet incorporated a lifespan perspective in the effects of flexibility, and therefore, the current study aims to bridge this theoretical and empirical gap in the literature.Workplace flexibility has traditionally been conceptualized as HR practices that help employees combine work and nonwork responsibilities, and in particular childcare (Allen, Johnson, Kiburz, & Shockley, 2013;Leslie, Manch...

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confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

From flexibility human resource management to employee engagement and perceived job performance across the lifespan: A multisample study

Bal

Lange

2014

J Occupat & Organ Psyc

182

173

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“…The study of Bal et al (2012) showed that flexibility i-deals related to motivation to continue working beyond retirement, while the study of Bal and De Lange (2015) showed that flexibility was related to higher employee engagement and performance. found that use of flexible careers was related to higher employee engagement and subsequent career success, while Pitt-Catsouphes and Matz-Costa (2008) showed that flexibility fit was positively related to employee engagement. We found one exception, with the study of Van Solinge and Henkens (2014) not showing evidence that flexibility related to retirement intentions or actual retirement, while other job characteristics and personal circumstances (such as retirement income) were predictive of one's retirement intentions and actual retirement decision.…”

Section: Employee Perceptions On Workplace Flexibility For Older Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The studies do, however, show that the relationships of flexibility with the outcomes (e.g., engagement, performance) are generally stronger for older workers. Bal and De Lange (2015) found stronger relationships for older workers between flexibility use and job performance, found that flexible careers were more strongly related to employee engagement among older workers (given that the manager supports flexible careers), and PittCatsouphes and Matz-Costa (2008) found that flexibility fit was more strongly related to employee engagement among older workers. Hence, these studies tend to support that older workers may benefit more than younger workers from workplace flexibility in maintaining their engagement and performance in the job.…”

Section: Employee Perceptions On Workplace Flexibility For Older Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, Pitt-Catsouphes and Matz-Costa (2008) showed that flexibility fit was predictive of employee engagement, indicating that it was not only having access to flexibility that is important, but the extent to which it fits with personal needs. Thus, when flexibility is aligned with other organizational practices and personal needs of employees, it is more strongly related to potentially relevant outcomes.…”

Section: Employee Perceptions On Workplace Flexibility For Older Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Workplace Flexibility across the Lifespan

Bal¹,

Jansen²

2016

Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management

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As demographic changes impact the workplace, governments, organizations and workers are looking for ways to sustain optimal working lives at higher ages. Workplace flexibility has been introduced as a potential way workers can have more satisfying working lives until their retirement ages. This paper presents a critical review of the literature on workplace flexibility across the lifespan. It discusses how flexibility has been conceptualized across different disciplines, and postulates a definition that captures the joint roles of employer and employee in negotiating workplace flexibility that contributes to both employee and organization benefits.Moreover, it reviews how flexibility has been theorized and investigated in relation to older workers. The paper ends with a future research agenda for advancing understanding of how workplace flexibility may enhance working experiences of older workers, and in particular focuses on the critical investigation of uses of flexibility in relation to older workers.Flexibility can be regarded as one the key concepts of the contemporary workplace (Bird, 2015). Organizations try to become more flexible and adaptable to ever changing economic circumstances (Volberda, 1996; Way et al., 2015), while employees are expected to be more flexible in how they approach their jobs and careers (Hill et al., 2008a). Moreover, employees are increasingly looking for more flexibility in how they balance their work with their personal lives (Allen, Johnson, Kiburz, & Shockley, 2013;Ferguson, Carlson, & Kacmar, 2015), and in how they develop their careers (Moen & Sweet, 2004). Finally, governments across the world have increasingly responded to these trends by declaring flexibility the keyword for the future workforce and workplace (Johnson, 2011). In all these instances the denotation 'flexibility' refers to a different object and consequently has a different meaning. 3It is not surprising that the increasing popularity of the allegedly multi-interpretational term flexibility has coincided with rapid demographic changes in the workforce, including the aging of populations across the world (Kooij, 2015;Zacher, 2015). These demographic changes have caused governments, organizations, and employees to take a different position in how work and careers are both conceived and realized when life expectancy will rise to 100 years and above. However, current retirement systems are largely based on people retiring at 65 years (Wang & Shultz, 2010). One of the more immediate consequences of the aging population is that the ratio of working vs. non-working people is declining rapidly, causing more non-working people to be dependent upon a smaller number of people in jobs (Johnson, 2011). As these changes have put greater pressure on the affordability of pensions in many countries worldwide, governments have been engaging in the process of stimulating longer careers and ceasing with financially supporting early retirement. However, whereas the need for people to work beyond retirement has increased...

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Employee engagement: Emerging insight of the millennial manufacturing workforce

Hurtienne

Kempen

2021

Human Resource Dev Quarterly

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Millennial workers are increasingly becoming the largest population of workers in the U.S. workforce (Carter & Walker III, 2018), and the manufacturing sector is the fifth most common employment sector for millennials (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). Demographic shifts may alter employee values and beliefs, which can impact the need for performance and manufacturing leaders to discover the relationship between millennial views and employee engagement. This phenomenological study of millennial workers intended to discover what might impact employee engagement. This article describes five main themes that can have an impact on millennial engagement: acceptance, community, education, collaborative environment, and leadership. K E Y W O R D S employee engagement, millennials, phenomenological methods 1 | INTRODUCTION Today's organizations are composed of a multigenerational workforce. A generation is a group, typically by age, that shares mostly common experiences and has similar values and beliefs shaped by life experiences. Generational differences can impact employee attitudes, opinions, and even how individuals work (Kapoor & Solomon, 2011). The differences between generations can impact organizational performance. An organization should recognize that, "In today's diverse workforce, it is necessary for different generations to work side by side and interact effectively together" (p. 349).Understanding effective employee engagement (EE) calls for urgency due to employee commitment and retention. Younger generations have a tendency to change employers and roles frequently (Chaudhuri & Ghosh, 2012). To

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The multi-generational workforce: Workplace flexibility and engagement

Cited by 133 publications

References 15 publications

From flexibility human resource management to employee engagement and perceived job performance across the lifespan: A multisample study

From flexibility human resource management to employee engagement and perceived job performance across the lifespan: A multisample study

Workplace Flexibility across the Lifespan

Employee engagement: Emerging insight of the millennial manufacturing workforce

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