Examining generational differences as a moderator of extreme‐context perception and its impact on work alienation organizational outcomes

Implications for the workplace and remote work transformation

Bibliographic Data

ID21392009
AuthorsAli B Mahmoud (0000-0002-3790-1107, St. John's University New York USA, corresponding author), Alexander Berman (0000-0002-6249-5657, St. John's University New York USA), William D Reisel (0000-0002-2325-9504, St. John's University New York USA), Leonora Fuxman (0000-0002-2987-2094, St. John's University New York USA), Dieu Hack-Polay (0000-0002-1038-5018, London South Bank University London UK)
Year2024
Volume65
Issue1
Pages70-85
Publication date2024-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScandinavian Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0036-5564 • E-ISSN: 1467-9450
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjop.12955
PMID37596807
OpenAlexW4385997218
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited84

There is no doubt that extreme contexts (e.g., war zones and pandemics) represent substantial disruptions that force many companies to rethink the way they do business. With so much of the workforce now working remotely and concerns about resulting work alienation, we must ask this question: How can this be translated into the generational divide in workplaces based in extreme contexts? Using COVID‐19 as an example trigger of extreme‐context experience, therefore, we investigate generation as a moderator of the effects of extreme‐context perception upon anxiety leading to alienation with subsequent behavioral outcomes on job insecurity, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). A time‐lagged survey procedure yielded 219 valid responses from a three‐generation sample of employees working in multiple service organizations. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM). Our analysis suggested that intense extreme‐context perception led to elevated anxiety and alienation, which, in turn, heightened job insecurity and worsened job satisfaction and OCB outcomes. Finally, during the experience of extreme‐context times, generation was found to moderate our model, such that both Generation Y and Generation Z experienced higher anxiety due to extreme‐context perception and hence higher job insecurity due to alienation compared with Generation X respondents. Our results endorse the criticality of implementing agile and generationally non‐sectarian management for effectively functioning generationally diverse workforces in pandemic times

Alienation · Context (archaeology) · Moderation · Perception · Political science · Work (physics) · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology