Generational Differences In Work Values

A review of the literature revealed that generational differences in work values can have a positive impact on organisational wellness and on individual organisational members. The older generations are said to value respect for hierarchy, and working hard to earn their due (McGuire, By & Hutchings, 2007). The generation X and generation Millennials however, grew up in the era of internet and instant gratification (McGuire, By & Hutchings, 2007), and thus value feedback so they know what they are doing right and what they need to work on (McGuire, By & Hutchings, 2007), and want to grow and develop and achieve seniority as soon as they can (Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010). Consistent with positive psychology, by learning from each other rather than

Providing development opportunities to all will mitigate the increased toxicity that would come from availing development only to younger generations. Furthermore, developing human capital has a positive impact on organisational wellness as well as organisational profitability. While not directly addressing generational differences in work values, Day, Kelloway and Hurrell (2014) offer insight on methods by which to mitigate toxicity caused by generational differences in work values. A positive impact of generational differences in work values that merits further discussion is that of the different generations learning from each other. As discussed earlier in the review, older generations view work as part of their identity and thus unlike younger generations, are not advocates of work life balance (Myers & Sadaghiani,

Consequences of an unhealthy workplace include high turnover due to low organisational commitment, lower performance as a result of work disengagement (Bakker, Schaufeli, Leiter & Taris, 2008), low performance due to higher levels of burnout and increased costs attributable to organisational misbehaviour (Day, Kelloway & Hurrell, 2014). Individual wellness as well as team and organisational wellness have to be considered in the pursuit of healthy workplaces that afford peak performance and employee wellbeing (Day, Kelloway & Hurrell, 2014). Farrell and Geist-Martin (2005) in their model of working well, put forward that an organisation needs to consider the; physiological, psychological, spiritual and social aspects of individual wellness, as well as the organisational wellness elements of; upper management support, feedback mechanisms, evaluation, and mission, vision, values and goals. Differences in generational work values has an bearing on the psychological and social aspects of individual wellness as well as the values, upper management support, feedback mechanisms and evaluation elements of organisational wellness. It is important to note which aspects of organisational wellness and health are affected by the toxicity. Day, Kelloway and Hurrell, (2014) do not directly address the effects of generational differences in work