Are “kids these days” working less hard than before? Are they less willing to make the sacrifices older generations did? Steve and Kim discuss the data and theory behind one of the most prominent workplace debates on this episode of Yes & No.

Paul Fairie: A brief history of “nobody wants to work” 

NCES: Percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college, by level of institution and sex and race/ethnicity of student: 1970 through 2016. 

NBER: Rates of absolute income mobility have fallen from approximately 90% for children born in 1940 to 50% for children born in the 1980s. 

Pew Research: During their young adulthood, Baby Boomers had unprecedented levels of divorce. Their marital instability earlier in life is contributing to the rising divorce rate among adults ages 50 and older today, since remarriages tend to be less stable than first marriages.

Association of Health Care Journalists: Baby boomers suffer more comorbidities than prior generations at similar ages.

Steve’s Notes

Ng, T.W., & Feldman, D.C. (2012). Evaluating Six Common Stereotypes About Older Workers with Meta‐Analytical Data. Personnel Psychology, 65, 821-858.

• Review of research testing the empirical validity of common perceptions about age, attitudes, and ability.

Finkelstein, LM, Voyles, EC, Thomas, CL, & Zacher, H (2020). A Daily Diary Study of Responses to Age Meta-stereotypes, Work, Aging and Retirement, Volume 6, Issue 1, 28–45. 

• Study exploring how the existence of age based stereotypes impacts people at different ages regardless of the accuracy of the stereotypes.

Episode Summary

Should people bring their whole selves to work? Kim and Steve dig into the roots and lasting impacts of the authenticity movement in the workplace on this episode of Yes & No.

Elsevier Journal: Being authentic in the workplace promotes overall well-being and satisfaction. A meta-analysis of authenticity, well-being, and engagement. 

Academy of Management: Empirical review of research and data relating to studies of authenticity in the workplace. 

FL Law Review: Narrow definitions of “professionalism” are based on white male standards and conforming to these expectations can be damaging for employees of color, women, LGBTQ people, etc. 

Forbes: Lack of cultural openness, adherence to white-dominant norms, and Americanized definitions of “professionalism” prevent many people from showing up authentically at work.

Lindsay Pollack: “People can be professional in many different ways, and it doesn’t have to look like a certain type of person.” New York Times bestselling author and speaker.

Steve’s Notes

Chawla, N., Gabriel, A. S., Rosen, C. C., Evans, J. B., Koopman, J., Hochwarter, W. A., Palmer, J. C., & Jordan, S. L. (2021). A person‐centered view of impression management, inauthenticity, and employee behavior. Personnel Psychology, 74(4), 657–691.

• Study examining the consequences, largely negative, of being in a job where people feel they must actively hide their inner feelings and true self.

Jones, K. P., Peddie, C. I., Gilrane, V. L., King, E. B., & Gray, A. L. (2016). Not so subtle: A meta-analytic investigation of the correlates of subtle and overt discrimination. Journal of Management, 42(6), 1588–1613.

• Review examining the pervasive and negative impact of implicit or subtle discrimination at work.

Ebrahimi, M, Kouchaki, M, & Patrick, VM (2020). Juggling work and home selves: Low identity integration feels less authentic and increases unethicality. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Volume 158,101-111.

• Study examining the impact, mostly negative of working in jobs that increase people’s feelings of inauthenticity.

Stergiou-Kita, M., Pritlove, C., & Kirsh, B. (2016). The “Big C” — Stigma, cancer, and workplace discrimination. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 10(6), 1035–1050.

• Examination of perceived and implicit biases toward employees who have survived cancer.

Episode Summary

Should companies be involved in politics? What issues (moral, economic, or otherwise) should they take? Does politicalization impact their bottom line? How should they navigate the ever changing landscape of what's deemed "political" in the US today? Kim and Steve dig into these questions and more on this episode of Yes & No. 

Show Notes

Kim’s Notes

Business Roundtable Decision: Changed purpose of organization from “maximize shareholder return” to “maximize return, deliver value to employees and customers, and support communities in which they operate” 

NBER: Tracks the polarization of American executive teams. Between 2009-2020 executive teams became increasingly politically homogeneous–a lot of political actions have been pushed by the C-suite teams themselves, not employees.

The Big Sort: Startling demographic data showing how Americans have been sorting themselves over the past three decades into increasingly homogeneous communities–not just at the regional level, or the red-state/blue-state level, but at the micro level of city and neighborhood. 

Leslie Cornfeld: “Talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not. Our mission is to help change that.” 1985 graduate of Harvard Law, and founder and C.E.O. of the nonprofit National Education Equity Lab. 

Steve’s Notes

Hydock, C., Paharia, N., & Blair, S. (2020). Should Your Brand Pick a Side? How Market Share Determines the Impact of Corporate Political Advocacy. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(6), 1135–1151. Research suggesting taking a political stance on controversial topics creates greater risk for large companies but may help small companies grow market share.

Mueller, K., Hattrup, K., Spiess, S.-O., & Lin-Hi, N. (2012). The effects of corporate social responsibility on employees' affective commitment: A cross-cultural investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(6), 1186–1200. Study that found that company’s social activities do influence employee commitment, but the nature of the impact varies across cultures.

Episode Summary

Do generational differences impact how we approach life and work? Are they a useful lens to better understand ourselves and others? Or are they labels that further engrain bias, ageism, and misunderstandings? Kim and Steve dig into both sides on this week's episode of Yes & No.

Show Notes

Kim’s Notes

WaPo: No, creativity doesn’t decline with age. 

Gallup: Millennials were found to be 3x more likely to have changed jobs in the last year than other generations (2016). 

Generations: Sociological theory by William Strauss and Neil Howe. Backbone of modern generational theory.  

Steve’s Notes

Brandt, N. D., Drewelies, J., Willis, S. L., Schaie, K. W., Ram, N., Gerstorf, D., & Wagner, J. (2022). Acting like a baby boomer? Birth-cohort differences in adults’ personality trajectories during the last half a century. Psychological Science. Study that found that personality traits differ somewhat across generations and that differences are likely due to socio-cultural influences as opposed to innate changes. 

Costanza, D. P., Badger, J. M., Fraser, R. L., Severt, J. B., & Gade, P. A. (2012). Generational differences in work-related attitudes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business and Psychology, 27, 375– 394. Study examining generational differences in job attitudes related to job satisfaction, commitment and turnover that found that “relationships between generational membership and work-related outcomes are moderate to small, essentially zero in many cases.”

Deal, J. (2006).  Retiring the Generation Gap: How Employees Young and Old Can Find Common Ground. Wiley, New York. Book based on an empirical study and literature review that suggests relatively few significant differences exist between generations related to work attitudes, and many perceived differences are rooted in misunderstanding, poor communication, and struggle for power and status between generations.

Lyons, S., & Kuron, L. (2014). Generational differences in the workplace: A review of the evidence and directions for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 139–157. Review highlighting the methodological flaws associated with many generational research studies that concluded with the recommendation that people take a more “critical approach to the interpretation and reporting of [generational difference] findings and not to ‘fan the flames’ by perpetuating unfounded stereotypes”

Michael J. Urick, Elaine C. Hollensbe, Suzanne S. Masterson, Sean T. Lyons, Understanding and Managing Intergenerational Conflict: An Examination of Influences and Strategies, Work, Aging and Retirement, Volume 3, Issue 2, 1 April 2017, 166–185.  Study exploring how intergenerational perceptions and biases toward other generations can create workplace conflict.

Trahan, L. H., Stuebing, K. K., Fletcher, J. M., & Hiscock, M. (2014). The Flynn effect: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 140(5), 1332–1360. Study that found that intelligence levels tend to increase slightly over time with each generation scoring a few points higher on IQ than their predecessor.

Truxillo, D. M., Cadiz, D. M., & Hammer, L. B. (2015). Supporting the aging workforce: A review and recommendations for workplace intervention research. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2, 351–381. Review of research studying how work attitudes and experiences change with age. It is interesting to contrast this to supposed generational differences and ask whether differences are due to the year people were born (their generation), or the time that has passed since they were born (their age). 

Xander D. Lub, P. Matthijs Bal, Robert J. Blomme & René Schalk (2016) One job, one deal…or not: do generations respond differently to psychological contract fulfillment?, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27:6. Study that found slight differences in job expectations across generations that may be due to differences in career stages.