Work engagement across different generations in Finland

• Date: 01 April 2019
• Author: Anu Suomäki,Aino Kianto,Mika Vanhala
• Published date: 01 April 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/kpm.1604

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Work engagement across different generations in Finland

A Qualitative Study of Boomers, Yers and Xers

Anu Suomäki

1

|Aino Kianto

2

|Mika Vanhala

2

1

LUT University, Lappeenranta, Finland

2

LUT School of Business and Management,

LUT University, Lappeenranta, Finland

Correspondence

Mika Vanhala, LUT School of Business and

Management, LUT University, Lappeenranta,

Finland.

Email: mika.vanhala@lut.fi

In this world of constantly growing global competition, work engagement is an

essential driver of organizational success. However, it seems that the source of

such engagement varies amongst employees of different generations. Thus, this

research aimed to ascertain whether or not generational differences matter when

it comes to work engagement. This qualitative study provides insight into the mul-

tigenerational workforce of today's knowledge‐intensive work environment by clar-

ifying the antecedents of work engagement for members of different generational

cohorts. This paper also addresses whether or not generation can serve as a means

for segmenting the workforce. The results demonstrate that despite slightly differ-

ent emphases, people of all ages follow similar constructions of work engagement.

The topic of this study is both current and beneficial as it provides new knowledge

on both work engagement and generational research while offering suggestions to

organizations seeking to engage their workforces.

1|INTRODUCTION

Generational differences have intrigued academia for years, with

researchers conducting studies attempting to compare different age

groups' values, ways of life, and views on work (Haynes, 2011;

Hernaus & Vokic, 2014; Kowske, Rasch, & Wiley, 2010; Parry &

Urwin, 2011; Pitt‐Catsouphes, Matz‐Costa, & Brown, 2011). Today's

work environment is changing due to globalization, digitalization, and

other mega trends, and according to Cesário and Chambel (2017),

knowledge is an essential asset of the knowledge‐intensive operating

environment today's organizations represent. Meanwhile, members

of different generations are increasingly mixing at work, causing sev-

eral challenges for leadership: How can one handle people with dif-

ferent values and views of the world? How can one lead employees

who have totally different perspectives on life? How can a company

keep functioning productively in the context of growing global com-

petition without forgetting the uniqueness of the employees? Along

with the discussion on generational differences, some researchers

(e.g., Giancola, 2006; McCaffree, 2007; Parry, 2014; Tienari &

Piekkari, 2011) have asked if age is the defining factor when it

comes to workforce diversity.

Engagement in one's work functions as a key driver of organiza-

tional success in the current globally competitive world (e.g., Hakanen,

Perhoniemi, & Toppinen‐Tanner, 2008; Schaufeli, 2013), and with the

adequate engagement‐oriented human resources practices, engage-

ment can lead to not only greater employee performance but also

passionate and committed workforce willing to share and create new

knowledge (Cesário & Chambel, 2017). Although there are studies

on knowledge worker roles and actions (see, e.g., Reinhardt, Schmidt,

Sloep, & Drachsler, 2011) as well as on knowledge exchange and work

environmental factors (Gressgård, 2015), no previous studies have

examined how antecedents of work engagement differ between vari-

ous employee generations amongst the knowledge workers. In addi-

tion, according to Cesário and Chambel (2017) in the literature, there

are quite few studies (like, e.g., Kianto, Vanhala, & Heilmann, 2016)

systematically linking knowledge issues to the employees' attitudes

like work engagement or organizational commitment. Thus, by this

paper, we try to answer the call by, for example, Cesário and Chambel

(2017) to clarify the relationship between knowledge issues and

employees' work engagement. The goal of this paper is to examine

whether generational differences form a defining factor in employees'

work engagement within a Finnish knowledge‐intensive work environ-

Received: 15 June 2018 Accepted: 11 March 2019

DOI: 10.1002/kpm.1604

140 © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Knowl Process Manag. 2019;26:140–151.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/kpm