Running head: WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA Work Values and Different Generations in Saudi Arabia Student’s name Abdulrahman Alsultan 201301078 Khalid Aldossary 201403919 Fawaz Aldossary 201203051 1 2 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA Introduction Cultural values play a crucial role in the establishment of a particular management style at the workplace (Zemke & Raines, 2016). The two authors describe the multigenerational workplace as "a mish-mash of conflicting voices and opinions among the multi-generational value-diverse workforce." (p. ?????) Statistics show that Saudi's workforce is ageing at a rate faster than anticipated in its history. In 1999, Dychtwald and Flower said that the older generation in the workplace has increased by an estimated 9 million over the previous ten years. As such, the workplace is experiencing increased conflict due to differences in perspectives, views, and way of doing things. Also, generational value differences have resulted in stereotypical views of different generations in the workplace (Zemke et al .). However, with 70% of the Saudi population below the age of 35 (CITE!!!!!), the situation is different. Increasingly the Millennial generation entered the worksforce. They are the greneration born between 198x to 2000 (?) (YOUR interpretation here) Statement of the problem The purpose of this study is to assess the differences in work values across the various generations at the workplace. The study considers the Silent generation,, Boom generation, and the thirteenth generation. Each generation is studied in isolation to ascertain the identifying values that differentiate its members from the others. In this study, we will ask two questions to achieve the desired results of the study. First, what are the work values of employees in Saudi Arabia? Secondly, do the different generations hold different work values, and if so, which work values In the next section, our literature review, we will explain the rationale for these research questions. 3 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA Literature review Ettinger has conducted an in-depth study to understand the various values that define the different age groups in the workplace. His research is crucial to providing insights essential to effective management of a multigenerational workforce in Saudi Arabia. He commences by revealing the various sources of his study which includes works by; historians, autobiographers, social scientists, and biographers- all of whom have contributed significantly in understanding the various generations. The author borrows a lot from Strauss and Howe (1991) who go beyond talking about generations but provide a critical analysis of each generation. The two authors provide a vivid explanation of what entails a generation referring it to as “A distinct cohort group whose length proximity equals a basic phase of life or twenty years over the previous three decades and whose; there are boundaries defined by different peer personality.” Further, Ettinger matches Strauss and Howe’s identification of life phases to Daniel Levinson, Ellen Langermann and Erik Erickson's definition citing high similarity. Ettinger literature defines life phases as members with a distinctly identifiable cycle of life and biography that separates it from the rest. He goes further to refer the respective biographies and the four phases of life as a generation diagonal. Moreover, the author talks of generations cycles which differentiate his works from those of other researchers. The author develops the concept of generational life cycles as defined by social movements which are ideally an era lasting for a decade. The historical events within the decade alter the social environment and ultimately the generation. He further provides his 4 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA view on social movements which he says that it can be broken down into two categories. The first social movement secular cries that cyclically reoccur, here, the society seeks to reorder the behaviour of the general population and the public institutions. The second social movement consists of spiritual awakenings that cyclically reoccur and typically involves a society that is focused on changing the inner world and individual behaviour. A vivid understanding of these two social movements is crucial in providing insights necessary to describe differences in work values of a multigenerational workplace. Ettinger reveals how Strauss and Howe came up to what they refer to as a generational type. The two authors combined the two social movements and the four phases of life to draw distinct generational types defined by their outstanding characteristics. Consequently, the authors come up with four generations that have occurred in the history which is mainly; an idealistic generation that is recessive; the reactive generation that is dominant; the civic generation; and the adaptive generation. The two authors provide a visual illustration of how generations have reoccurred over the years showing the dominant characteristics of each. The author says that differences in the generations affect many aspects of life including the workplace. He reveals the many names that have been given to identifying the various generations in the workplace. First is the veteran group that consists of people born between years 1922 to 1943; the second group is called boomers and consists of members born between 1943 and 1960; The third group is the Xers and has members born between years 1961 and 1980. There is the millennium generation whose members were born as from 1982 to present; Ettinger does not give much consideration into the group, however, because the generation does not contribute much to the workforce currently. He, however, notifies his readers that the generations do overlap each other especially within the range of four years and thus difficult to draw accurate conclusions. 5 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA Silent generations Ettinger uses various sources to understand this generation and its defining characteristics. The generation records the lowest population and thus presents a challenge to wholly understand it as compared to those other generations. He uses the words “withdrawn, indifferent and unimaginative” to refer to the group. Further, he cites management experts Zemke et al. (1999) who describes the group as consisting of disciplined, history absorbed and conservative spenders. The group members are highly conforming to changes; they were born by autocratic parents that suffocate them with excessive parental protection; they became conformist during their youth; became undecisive at their midlife. Most of them started retiring at about 1990 and are about to complete their departure from the workforce. Boom generation The author refers the generation born between 1943 and 1960 to as the boom generation and cites the economic boom following the Second World War as the source of the name. This he supports using (Anon, 1993 Pg. 6) that explains the term “baby boom generation” was popular among demographers of the 1970s who used the name to refer to the twenty-year growth of the economy spanning from 1946 to 1966. The author further breaks down this generation based on factors like education, marriage, household income and home ownership (Gibson, 1995). The author’s view of this group is a generation comprised of narcissistic members due to excessive indulgence by their parents. This generation consists of members full of personal gratification yet with high regard for teamwork and is highly optimistic about the future. Thirteenth generation 6 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA Comprise of people born between the years 1961 and 1981 and make up the largest population in the workforce (Zemke et al. 1999). Ettinger, however, notes that this generation has a "work to live attitude" rather than "live to work attitude" as exhibited by its preceding generation. As such, the generation records the lowest liking for work compared to the silent and boom generations. He refers to the generation as being defined by features such as singleparent homes, latch-key kids and career-absorbed parents. Further, the author reveals that the preceding generations think of the thirteenth generation as a group of slackers who do what is expected only; nothing more and nothing less. Zemke et al. 1999 has a rather positive opinion of this generation referring to them as a group of self-reliant people who try to achieve a balance between work-life and family-life. However, they have a unique and quite sceptical attitude of the workplace because they like the informality and have a casual view of authority. Ettinger reveals the generation has a reactive approach towards life stemming from encouragement to view life as a “hack through the jungle.” Multigenerational workplace Having developed a clear understanding of the differences that exist between the four generations, the author proceeds to explain how it affects the workplace. He quotes Zemke et al. 1999 " there is a problem at the workplace stemming from different work values, views, ambitions, mindsets, and demographics of the various generations." The work values of each generation may conceal the problems of the multigenerational workforce. The generations have stereotypical views on each other which blur the work values of the different generations. Consequently, managers and human resource professionals should strive to understand the work values of different generations for effective workforce management. Managerial, supervisory and associate relations 7 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA Ettinger says that supervisors need to place attention on the veteran and Boom generation who have high impact at the workplace (Dennis 1988). He further stresses the need to deduce the differences between the older and younger workforce as a tool for effective management. Report by management experts Zemke et al. 1991 show that there is a higher likelihood of older generations being managed by younger individuals: who interested in success power and money as opposed to the older generation that finds job satisfaction in security, comfort, and pride. The differences contribute significantly to forming one's views about the job, and thus the author urges the management to learn how to satisfy the distinct groups differently. Economic rewards The author portrays the older generation as ideal workers who are interested in contributing to the workplace rather than yearning for higher earnings and promotions. According to Gruenberg (1980), older workers place more emphasis on intrinsic work compared to extrinsic work. Also, the author notes that there is increased conflict in the workplace because the younger generations feel like the elderly are blocking their chances for promotion. Bennet (1998) thinks that instead of promoting and paying higher earnings by seniority, the system should stress performance. This would much favour the younger generation at the workplace; research attributes higher performance on younger managers compared to their older counterparts (Siegel 1993). The author continues to bring to light the need for managers to build on new skills, learn new things and take more risks to increase their performance at the workplace. Task variety of independence and intellectual stimulation The author goes ahead to assess the impact of task identity on job satisfaction levels. He collects information from 573 employees that help him derive the relationship between 8 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA task identity, task variety, and job satisfaction. Ettinger proposes that a high task variety has a positive impact on job satisfaction for employees. Moreover, increased job autonomy will also motivate employees to work more. This approach to management can be particularly useful in managing younger employees who have a great yearning for new skills, knowledge, and independence. Job security Surveys conducted by National Opinion Research indicate a gradual decline in the number of lifetime employees. Employers perceive the older generation as being unable to learn new skills, sick more often compared to younger colleagues and less adaptable to changes. Consequently, many employers do not wish to retain the older generation employees. This adverse turn of events has left the older employees with real concern for job security (Duran & Kleiner, 1992). On the contrary, the thirteenth generation is accused of not being so loyal to their employers; this is because of seeing their parents suffer effects of downsizing. Research methodology Questionnaires will be issued to 340 employees drawn from many sectors of business including; sales, legal counsel, finance, information technology, etc. To ensure full representation of all generations, 50 participants will belong to the silent generations, 150 participants will be drawn from the Boom generation and the rest from the thirteenth generation. The methodology is best suited for the study considering a large number of respondents required and the fact that the participants will be drawn from an extensive geographical area. Also, the research methodology will be convenient compared to the other methods regarding cost-benefit analysis. The participants will be required to answer two primary questions that form the basis of the research conducted; that is, is it possible to 9 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA differentiate the three generations in a multigenerational workforce based on their work values? Which work values are most critical in differentiating among the three generations? The questionnaires will be further tailored around the different work values of different generations. The questionnaires will be addressed to the participants through the internet and postal address. Project timeline Time Task Week 1 Issue questionnaires Week 2 Assemble data from questionnaires Week 3 Begin introduction Week 4-6 Literature review Week 7 Complete report 10 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA Work cited Duran, Cathy, and Brian H. Kleiner. "Managing older employees." Leadership & Organization Development Journal13.2 (1992): I. Dulin, L. (2008). Leadership preferences of a generation Y cohort: A mixed‐methods investigation. Journal of Leadership Studies, 2(1), 43-59. Fitzgerald, Thomas K. "The elderly at the millennium: Courting the older consumer." Ageing International 25.(1) (1999): 72-86. Harris, C. T., & Earle, J. R. (1986). Gender and work values: Survey findings from a working-class sample. Sex roles, 15(9-10), 487-494. Motowidlo, S. J., Packard, J. S., & Manning, M. R. (1986). Occupational stress: its causes and consequences for job performance. Journal of applied psychology, 71(4), 618. Siegel, S. R. (1994). A comparative study of preretirement programs in the public sector. Public Personnel Management, 23(4), 631-647. Zemke, Ron, Claire Raines, and Bob Filipczak. Generations at work: Managing the clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in your workplace. Amacom, 1999. 11 WORK VALUES AND DIFFERENT GENERATIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA
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