Originally published: . Volume 3, No. 9. Source pages: 16.
Senior psychology major at Centenary, Ms. Caitlin Neese, presented her study on generational difference at the Southeastern Social Science Association in April. The paper, titled “What's the Matter with Kids These Days? Examining Generational Differences in Workplaces," was a project with Dr. Kelly Weeks, Associate Professor of Business at Centenary.
Caitlin explained to the Times that she interviewed subjects from the five main generations in today’s workforce: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials.
“Some topics we focused our interview questions on were work- life balance, gender roles, multitasking and technology, work ethic, and the desire for a meaningful job,” Caitlin noted. “… we found many differences amongst the generations. We looked at how people view their own generation and then how they view the other generations ….”
Caitlin plans to work on developing a survey for a wide range of employees. “Every generation says they want a meaningful job, but the younger generations define this as having good coworkers and working with good people, while the older two generations equate having success and reaching goals to having a meaningful job,” she explained. “We also found many differences with multitasking and technology. Every generation claimed they use multitasking and technology at work, but the Baby Boomers and Traditionalists are not as comfortable with it as the younger two generations.”
Caitlin is Dr. Amy Hammond’s advisee.
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