Generational differences in psychological traits and their impact on the workplace
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review data from 1.4 million people who completed personality, attitude, psychopathology, or behavior scales between the 1930s and the present and to discuss how those differences may impact today's workplace. Design/methodology/approach: The data are gathered from research reports using psychological scales over the last eight decades, primarily those using college student samples. Findings: Generation Me (sometimes called Gen Y or Millennials) demonstrates higher self‐esteem, narcissism, anxiety, and depression; lower need for social approval; more external locus of control; and women with more agentic traits. Practical implications: Managers should expect to see more employees with unrealistically high expectations, a high need for praise, difficulty with criticism, an increase in creativity demands, job‐hopping, ethics scandals, casual dress, and shifting workplace norms for women. Organizations can respond to these changes with accommodations (e.g. praise programs) or with counter pressure (e.g. dress codes), and it is imperative that managers consider the best reaction for their workforce. Originality/value: Most studies of generations interview workers at one time; thus any differences could be due to age or generation. Many of these reports are also based on subjective opinions and perceptions. In contrast, the paper reviews quantitative data on generational differences controlling for age. This empirically based look at generations in the workplace should be useful to managers and workers.
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A Review of the Empirical Evidence on Generational Differences in Work Attitudes
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- Authors
- Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, S. M.
- Affiliations
- San Diego State University (US)
- Kennesaw State University (US)
- ORCID
- Twenge, Jean M.
- Venue
- Journal of Managerial Psychology
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2008-11-07
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 862-877
- ISSN
- 0268-3946 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1977145447
- Cited by
- 749
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 70 · 2019: 67 · 2018: 48 · 2017: 48 · 2016: 66 · 2015: 53 · 2014: 61 · 2013: 37 · 2012: 37
- FWCI
- 52.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Managerial Psychology (publishedVersion)
- DigitalCommons - Kennesaw State University (Kennesaw State University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Generational Differences and Trends
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
- Social Sciences › Demography › Retirement, Disability, and Employment
- Keywords
- generational differences, Generation Me, millennials, personality traits, narcissism, self-esteem, locus of control, need for approval, agentic traits, anxiety and depression, workplace management, job hopping, workplace dress code, gender norms in the workplace
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