What satisfies younger versus older employees, and why? An aging perspective on equity theory to explain interactive effects of employee age, monetary rewards, and task contributions on job satisfaction

Abstract

In light of increasingly age‐diverse workforces, organizations face the challenge of fostering job satisfaction among both younger and older employees. Combining equity theory with an aging perspective, we propose that due to age‐related shifts in motives and goals, younger versus older employees’ job satisfaction will depend differently on monetary rewards (outcome side of equity theory), task contributions (input side of equity theory), as well as on imbalances (inequity) in the relationship between monetary rewards and task contributions. In a multisource study with 166 managers, we found that while younger employees were satisfied primarily by monetary rewards, older employees were satisfied primarily by their task contributions. Most importantly, a three‐way interaction indicated that younger versus older employees react differently to two types of inequity: Being proportionally over‐rewarded (i.e., receiving high monetary rewards for low task contributions) reduced older (but not of younger) employees’ job satisfaction. By contrast, under‐reward inequity (i.e., receiving low monetary rewards for high task contributions) decreased younger (but not of older) employees’ job satisfaction. These age‐dependent effects of job features on job satisfaction reveal important theoretical as well as practical implications.

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Employees’ Performance Appraisal in Private Hospitals in Malaysia

“…Sudin (2011) stated that perceived fairness or organizational justice is crucial in performance appraisal process as it poses a huge impact on the effectiveness of performance appraisal where employees' job satisfaction, motivation and organizational commitment are highly affected. This can be related to equity theory which stated that the perception of fairness is determined by the amount of efforts committed compared to the rewards or compensation they received (Kollmann, Stockmann, Kenbock, & Peschi, 2019;Peyton, 1994). For instance, employees will try to work on performance on low ratings only if they perceive the performance appraisal process was fair.…”

Looking for a Fulcrum- Are Preferred Work Values Different for Four Generation Cohorts Co-existing in the Labour Market of Poland?

“…In Poland, cohorts are mainly referred to as Baby Boomers (born 1947-1963), generation X (Gen -Xers, born 1964-1979), generation Y (Millenials, born 1980-1994 and generation Z (Gen-Zers, born 1995-2010, following the division suggested by Rogozińska-Pawełczyk (2014), andSmolbik-Jęczmień (2017). Drawing on sociology-based approach, first proposed by Mannheim (McCourt, 2012), generation subsistence is viable due to five features of our society, new partakers in the cultural process are emerging, former participants are continually disappearing, members of a generation can partake in only a temporally limited section of the historical process, so cultural legacy has to be conveyed, the passage from one generation to another is unceasing (Kollmann et al, 2020). While confronting the above two approaches, it can be seen that according to the latter, sharing a birth year is far less than sharing a generation membership.…”

“…Conversely, Constanza and Finkelstein (2015) criticized such an approach heavily, emphasizing little empirical proof backing generational differences, while alternative explanations of those differences were many. Along with that, there was not enough grounded account of the reason for generational differences occurrence and support for the efficacy of any actions taken to remedy those differences (Kollmann et al, 2020).…”

Commitment in an organizational context: a SET-theoretic approach that provides management tools

“…A program capable of taking advantage of the synergistic effects of those conditions would include practices such as high involvement in decision-making and the attribution of more responsibilities and power to employees (allowing them to develop trust, positive thinking, self-appreciation, and, thus, better performances); a climate of trust among employees and with superiors; a codependency and open relationship between employees and leaders, in which all feel appreciated and part of the team; career and training opportunities; and age-inclusive HR policies (applied to recruitment, training, career and promotions) (Tan and Lim, 2009;Boehm et al, 2014). Meaningful work and the possibility of engaging in meaningful contributions in their jobs or to their social environment is very much appreciated by senior employees (Kollmann et al, 2020) and could be achieved with the aforementioned practices.…”