Organizational communication and job satisfaction: what role do generational differences play?

Communication from below: Feedback from employees as a tool for their stabilisation

Given the current organisational changes in a turbulent global economic context, is the appropriate setting of the communication process, with an emphasis on feedback from employees to management for organisations to cope with external changes. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, communication from below is required as it is a primary issue in the context of significant organisational change and can help to shape positive perceptions of change. The main aim is to evaluate the relationships between selected organisational variables regarding the use of different forms of employee-to-management communication. A questionnaire survey of Czech organisations (n1 = 183) was conducted, and the data obtained were evaluated using statistical tests (Wald statistic) to determine whether a demonstrable relationship existed between the traits. The results showed a relationship between the application of most types of bottom-up communication and organisation size in terms of the number of employees, majority ownership, and, for selected types of communication forms, annual turnover. However, none of the communication types examined depended on the sector in which an organisation operated. The results of the qualitative research confirmed that grassroots communication was crucial in all the types of organisations examined and helped to improve organisational climate. This study contributes to theory and practice by confirming that feedback from employees is a tool for their stabilisation. The managerial implications include the finding that effective feedback settings help prevent conflicts in organisations. The study contributes significantly to the deepening of knowledge on the issue of systematic communication leading to the sustainability of organisations, which is also demonstrated by the almost zero overlap with previous studies.

Examining the role of team climate, transactive memory system, and team leader humility in teams: an empirical study of Indian generational cohorts

Purpose

The study aims to define the term “generation” by proposing an integrated design based on age-period-cohort effects and by proposing an Indian generational cohort framework categorizing Indian generational cohorts into four categories, namely, Baby Boomers, GenX, GenY, and GenZ. The study further aimed to capture the existing generational differences between GenY and GenZ cohorts in the Indian teams on team climate, transactive memory system, and team leader humility.

Design/methodology/approach

For the first two objectives a literature review methodology along with the author's proposition was adopted. An integrated design was proposed by reviewing the relevant sociological literature to define generations. Thereafter, an Indian cohort framework was proposed categorizing them into four groups Baby Boomers, GenX, GenY, and GenZ. Following that, for the last objective, i.e. to identify the differences between cohorts, empirical data were collected by a structured questionnaire that was disseminated to GenY and GenZ Indian working professionals. A total of 229 responses were used for observing the differences or similarities between GenY and GenZ cohorts on the study variables by employing an independent samples t-test.

Findings

The study proposed an integrated design (age, period, and cohort effect). Following that, an Indian generational cohort's framework has been outlined categorizing Indian cohorts based on their birth years, age groups, developmental stages, formative years, major Indian historical events, and various characteristics possessed by them. Moreover, the empirical findings support the existing generational disparities and depict that GenZ holds a higher inclination towards transactive memory systems and team climate whereas GenY holds more inclination toward leader humility.

Practical implications

The study put forth its contribution to research scholars by categorizing Indian generational cohorts in a rationalized manner based on an integrated design (age-period-cohort) effect. The study would further assist concerned authorities and managers in formulating HR policies to deal with the underlying generational differences highlighted by the study.

Originality/value

As there lies a paucity of generational frameworks in the Indian context, this study is the first attempt in this direction which categorizes Indian generational cohorts based on a unique integrated design including age-period-cohort effects. In addition, the study also investigated these cohorts in Indian organizations to observe the existing variations.

Employee satisfaction and motivation of retail store employees

In the 21st century, the rapid technological development in different innovations has not reduced the value of human capital. It is considered to be the most valuable capital of businesses and acts as a driving force of business activity. The perception of human capital should be essential since it has a real impact on the business's success. In human resources management, it is necessary to keep in mind one of the basic functions of management: motivation, planning, and organizing. The main goal of this article is to identify the critical determinants of motivation factors of the human resources capital in the retail sector. An adequately motivated employee is a key to achieving the company goals since employee motivation maintains customer satisfaction and loyalty. Based on the results, the most popular motivation tools proved to be the financial incentives in the form of salary increases or bonuses. In the case of generational differences, there is no difference in the degree of satisfaction with the salary. The employees expressed to be less satisfied with their workplace's communication and leadership style. They have no decision-making power at all. Besides, they do not really feel a sense of belonging somewhere. The members of Generation Z are less satisfied with job security than the representatives of older generations. Most of the retail employees do not find their work interesting or diverse. On the other hand, they think the pace of the work is too fast, but they are well prepared for the work they are doing. Based on the answers, most of the respondents disagree with the inappropriate style of feedback they receive from the managers. The members of Generation Z feel that they cannot adequately utilize their knowledge and skills at their workplaces. They get more criticism than praise than the representatives of older generations.

Towards Sustainable Human Resources: How Generational Differences Impact Subjective Wellbeing in the Military?

The article analyzes the generational (age cohorts) effect on subjective wellbeing at work. The main aim is to reveal generational differences that lead to subjective wellbeing at work and possible discrepancies between the generations. The article contributes to the literature by creating and testing a theoretical model of subjective wellbeing at work as a composition of several dimensions that vary among generations, including physical experience, cognitive job performance, and appraisal, as well as social relationships and socio-emotional enablement at work. Using the military as an organization where daily routine creates similar conditions for different generations, we surveyed 890 army professionals representing three different generations: Gen Y, Gen X, and Gen Z. A structural equation modelling (SEM) technique is used to test the research model. The results support the hypothesis that generation has a strong moderating impact on the components of subjective wellbeing at work. Social relationship, as a socio-emotional experience, is the most important component of wellbeing at work for Gen Z, while socio-emotional enablement plays a central role in subjective wellbeing at work for Gen X and Gen Y.

A motivational standpoint of job insecurity effects on organizational citizenship behaviors: A generational study

Our research reports an empirical analysis of a path model linking job insecurity to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) via two mediators, that is, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction. The aim is to evaluate the path model invariance across three generational cohorts, that is, generation X, generation Y, and generation Z. A sample of employees in service companies based in Canada was surveyed. We utilized a partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, which included path analysis and multi-group analysis (MGA) to test proposed hypotheses. We found that job insecurity negatively predicted intrinsic motivation which positively related to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction influenced OCBs positively. Both intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction mediated the indirect effects of job insecurity onto OCBs. Generation X was more pronounced in their reaction to job insecurity than later generations given the strong negative effects on intrinsic motivation and hence on their job. However, generation Z employees followed their parents from generation X regarding engaging more in OCBs when they are satisfied with their job than generation Y. In general, therefore, it should come as no surprise that generation X employees' OCBs can be expected to plummet due to the elevated levels of job insecurity during pandemic times (e.g., COVID-19) more intensely than Generation Y. Clearly, with COVID-19 having led many organizations around the world to adopt virtual workplace environments, generational differences amongst employees have to be considered as a matter of crucial concern for these organizations.