Embracing Change Through Team Diversity: The Impact of Age Diversity on Civil Servants’ Perceptions of Organizational Change

Abstract

This study explores the influence of age diversity within teams on civil servants’ perceptions of organizational change. Age diversity is examined through two dimensions: age variety, which refers to the range of different ages within a team, and age polarization, which denotes the extent to which age groups are segregated or clustered within a team. Individual perceptions of change are based on how civil servants evaluated a recent merger. While age polarization shows a significant effect—with less polarized teams exhibiting more positive perceptions of the merger—age variety does not demonstrate a notable impact. These results highlight that while age diversity is important, its impact is nuanced: simply having a range of ages is not sufficient, but reducing age polarization is crucial.