The dynamic nature of industrialization in the world today presents the need for a diverse workforce. Diversity is embedded in organizational culture by supporting policies and values. The difference exists in the form of age, culture, ethnic and racial variety among others. However, most organizations still struggle with employing age diversity in the workplace. The rise of social media has led to an increasing number of young employees in various organizations, causing them to work alongside an older workforce. Age diversity in the workplace affects organizational performance, which is also influenced by HR policies and top management operations.
Job performance is described as the effectiveness of job abilities in the real work setting (Kotur & Anbazhagan, 2014). Employees are tasked with different assignments that require the application of different skills and abilities for completion. Job performance is therefore measured according to the efficiency at which the capabilities are performed and completed.
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Age diversity refers to the differences in are that exist in any organization. An employee workforce is mostly composed of young, middle-aged and old employees, depending on the type of work done. Age diversity is necessary for the organization as it leads to the enhancement of skills, as well as collaboration between different age groups, which result in better job performance.
Job performance is affected by age diversity such that the more the age increases, the faster the abilities to perform at work decrease. Furthermore, the effects of age on job performance also depend on the type of work done (Kotur & Anbazhagan, 2014). Therefore, increasing age could either increase or decrease in job performance. On the other hand, being young could also have a positive or negative impact on work output, hence showing the need for diversity in the workplace.
Both young and old employees provide an organization with different expertise. Job characteristics define the level of knowledge needed and from which age group. Some jobs demand heavy physical activities, which are mostly executed expertly by a young taskforce (Kotur & Anbazhagan, 2014). In such a job description, the young employees are mainly preferred as they have the physical and psychological strength to carry out the tasks. However, physical strength continues to diminish with increasing age. Employees below 45 years are more viable for such positions as compared to those over 45 years because the latter is past the middle period.
On the other hand, the jobs that require experience and expertise favor older employees as compared to younger ones. More former employees are believed to have been in the job environment for a long time, hence a wide range of experience that comes along with expertise (Kotur & Anbazhagan, 2014). These employees often offer direction to the younger employees by applying skills garnered over the years, hence increased organizational performance. However, younger employees present limited experience that may challenge them in handling tasks that require increased mental expertise and expertise thus mentally demanding.
Organizational performance is affected by the collaboration between the varying age groups in the organization. Older employees provide the experience necessary for the execution of activities. They also apply their mental capacity to problem-solving and critical thinking, which keeps the organization running due to the efficiency of problem-solving (Kotur & Anbazhagan, 2014). The older taskforce also passes on their skills to the younger generation, hence guiding them through tasks to ensure organizational goals are achieved. The experience gathered over the years also facilitates the execution of functions that may otherwise prove difficult for the younger workforce.
Young employees are well vast with recent trends, especially in technology and social media. These employees are quick to learn about emerging trends due to increased curiosity and expertise in handling new technology (Kotur & Anbazhagan, 2014). Therefore, younger employees perform better when it comes to dealing with new technology and globalization, which requires the use of social media. Furthermore, they perform physically daunting tasks due to their enhanced physical abilities, owing to their physical strengths (Kotur & Anbazhagan, 2014). An organization is therefore dependent on age diversity to increase its performance, whereby diverse age groups get to contribute differently to the organization, hence increased organizational performance.
Age diversity in the workplace brings with it social categorization and social identity (Kunze, Boehm & Bruch, 2013). Social classification often results in age discrimination in the organization, whereby employees are alienated and separated based on their age. Organizational performance is critically affected by age discrimination. Employees that are discriminated against often perform poorly, leading to decreased motivation and therefore reduced performance. Lower individual performance on team level results in lower organizational performance.
Social identity and social categorization are mostly felt in age heterogeneous organizations. Such companies are composed of teams that have high levels of age diversity. Teams are formed in a manner to include members of all age groups in a bid to enhance job performance. As a result, people of the same age that are on the same team tend to group themselves based on their age and abilities. Such categorization negatively affects team performance and team collaboration. Members of the teams that are not from the same age group are alienated and hence display poor performance, which results in poor organizational performance.
Age diversity also leads to social fragmentation between age groups in the organization, which are profoundly influenced by social identity and social categorization (Kunze, Boehm & Bruch, 2013). Social classification also has significant effects on professional and social relationships in the workplace. Employees tend to form age subgroups that affect the way they relate.
Furthermore, members of the same age group tend to relate better professionally by helping each other to accomplish tasks and achieve organizational objectives, regardless of their teams. The employees also go ahead and form groups that discriminate against employees of a different age group, thus creating a rift in the workforce. Despite members of the same subgroups collaborating to achieve organizational goals, the social divisions created by people of different age subgroups deteriorates organizational performance, hence poor results.
However, the development of age sub-groups in an organization leads to better communication among members of the same age groups (Kunze, Boehm & Bruch, 2013). Enhanced communication among such employees results in better collaboration and cohesion among individual employees, therefore leading to increased organizational performance. Improved employee performance results in increased organization performance, hence the achievement of corporate goals.
Harmful age discrimination in an organization is affected by two main factors. Negative age stereotypes of the top management and diverse-friendly HR policies affect the levels of age discrimination (Kunze, Boehm & Bruch, 2013). Senior management teams often hold a stereotype against young employees, thereby motivating social identity and categorization. The stereotypes also contribute to the development of age sub-groups among employees. Increased levels of social identification and social classification further lead to high instances of age-based discrimination.
On the other hand, diverse-friendly HR policies play a significant role in alleviating social identity and social categorization. The systems often facilitate the cohesion of employees regardless of their age, thus discouraging subgrouping among employees. The policies eliminate social fragmentation by implementing an environment that supports age diversity. Furthermore, they also encourage mutual respect, which is incorporated into organizational culture, thus leading to organizational cohesion and increased organizational performance.
Moreover, not only do diverse-friendly HR policies eliminate age discrimination, but they also facilitate the elimination of other diverse-related discrimination (Kunze, Boehm & Bruch, 2013). Through the plans, the organization consists of employees that value each other and their contributions to the organization, despite age considerations.
Diverse-friendly HR policies strengthen the relationship among members of the organization (Kunze, Boehm & Bruch, 2013). They promote activities such as team building which is used effectively in uniting a diverse workforce, to establish unity and cohesion that supports organizational performance. Team building trends also ensure that both top level and lower level employees foster a conducive environment without stereotypes and discrimination by age.
HR managers also come up with policies that bridge the gap between age and performance by formulating policies that meet the needs of members of all age groups (Kunze, Boehm & Bruch, 2013). As a result, employees are included in all company activities and are motivated to work together to achieve organizational goals. Social and professional relationships are also enhanced due to the policies thus promoting friendships and teamwork in the organization. As a result of these policies, organizational performance is improved.
In conclusion, age diversity is a challenging aspect that most organizations face. However, age diversity has various effects on organizational performance as it increases collaboration among teams, which in turn increase job performance. However, there are multiple hindrances to age diversity including top-level stereotyping that leads to subgrouping and discrimination in the workplace. To curb this challenge, organizations come up with diverse-friendly HR policies which seek to bridge the gap between different age groups, and in turn promote organizational performance. The procedures also eliminate age-based discrimination through the implementation of activities that lead to cohesion in the workplace. Organizational performance is therefore affected by age diversity.
References
Kotur, B., & Anbazhagan, S. (2014). Influence of Age and Gender on the Performance. Journal Of Business And Management, 16(5), 97-103.
Kunze, F., Boehm, S., & Bruch, H. (2013). Organizational Performance Consequences of Age Diversity: Inspecting the Role of Diversity-Friendly HR Policies and Top Managers’ Negative Age Stereotypes. Journal Of Management Studies, 50(3), 413-442. doi: 10.1111/joms.12016
