Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Conflict And Diversity Associated With Four Generations In The Workforce, Rodney S. Milligan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Four generations of workers share the workforce for the first time in history. Business leaders' failure to address generational conflict may lead to low productivity, high turnover rates, employee frustration, and reduced profits. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of business leaders, managers, and supervisors in leading a multigenerational workforce within their companies. The conceptual framework was based on McClelland's theory, identifying key motivators that drive characteristics of people, including affiliation. A purposive sample of 20 local employees, spanning 4 generations from the retail grocery industry in Hampton Roads, Virginia, were interviewed to explore general …