The Role of Intergenerational Differentiation in Perception of Employee Engagement and Job Satisfaction among Older and Younger Employees in Slovenia

Abstract

With the ageing population in the developed world, age diversity in the workforce in organizations is growing. Consequently, perception of the work environment, job satisfaction and engagement are influenced by differences in age as well as a corresponding diverse set of values and often manifested through age discrimination. Using an age-diverse national sample (n = 1505) of older (n = 750) and younger (n = 755) workers in Slovenia, this study investigates the understudied influence of intergenerational differentiation (age discrimination) on job satisfaction and employee engagement between two age cohorts. Three different instruments were used: Intergenerational Differentiation in the Workplace Measure (IDWM) , Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (JSQ) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) . The main goal of the study was to (through structural equation modelling) find out if and how the perception of intergenerational differentiation in the workplace affects job satisfaction and employee engagement between young and old employees. The constructed structural model shows that independent of the age group, intergenerational differences have a direct negative effect on job satisfaction and an indirect negative effect on employee engagement. It was also found that perceived age discrimination has both a greater direct effect on job satisfaction among older employees and a greater indirect effect on older employees’ engagement than on younger employees’ job satisfaction and engagement. Thus, by age discrimination effects on job satisfaction and employee engagement across the two most prominent age groups, older and younger, which will play a deciding role in the broader socio-economic context via the future job market, providing higher economic growth, a sustainable healthcare and retirement system, etc. While the groups differ in examining the organizational level the study implicitly identifies that these intergenerational differences in age related values and value changes exist not only in the organization but spread through society.