Employee communication challenges in multi generation workplaces

Employees are expected to stay in their jobs until a later age and therefore, increasingly, generations need to work together in the workplace. As a result there are more differences in communicational preferences and organisations have to effectively navigate these differences. To understand how organisations might effectively navigate generational differences in communication this thesis has set out to research policies, and general attention, concerning intergenerational communication within companies. To answer, the research question a case study was conducted within a company. The case study consisted of interviews, as well as a content analysis. The company provided employees for the interviews and these employees differed in age and position as to give a full overview. Furthermore, the content analysis used messages from the LinkedIn page of the company, internal news channel while also analyzing the website of the company. The selection of messages was based on the length of the thesis, so three months, as to give a sufficient overview of different messages used. The website was analysed as a whole as most pages discuss topics relevant to the research question. Results from the interviews showed that several stereotypes concerning both older and younger generations are present within the company. Furthermore, that attention for generational differences concerning communication is beneficial for the company as a whole. Consequently, differences in communication concerns not only style but also method. The results therefore also indicate that there is a difference in preference for communication methods which can potentially create conflict within the workplace. Additionally, results from the content analysis showed that the different communication medium illustrate the values of the company. The different communication mediums directed externally mostly discuss values of the company and the importance of being a team, while the internal news channel also calls its employees to participate and help in developing the company. Furthermore, the structure of an organisation is of influence in how generations work together within the workplace, and the structure of the organisation becomes apparent on for example the website. This study, therefore, underlines the importance of mutual understanding between generations and the need for a company to have an open organisational structure while also having sufficient attention for generational differences and communication preferences.