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The global expectation is that millennials and generation Z will take the stake of 75% of the workplace population by 2025. In addition, concurrently, Sri Lanka put its prospect on the ICT industry to be one of the major employers for the country. Presently, the industry has created 95,000 breadwinners. Still, the industry was hit with very high em...
Citations
... The young generation prioritizes growth opportunities; hence, training and career development opportunities reduce turnover intention (Climek et al., 2022;Jena & Nayak, 2022). Mentoring, reverse mentoring, quick feedback, effective leadership techniques, career development, and training to improve skills ultimately lower employee retention among the young generation (Jayathilake, 2019;Younas & Bari, 2020). Since they value empowerment and autonomy, businesses should view their workers as internal customers, and building strong bonds with managers can help achieve this (Frye et al., 2020;Islam et al., 2022;Kossyva et al., 2021). ...
The study aims to investigate the relationship between training and development, job embeddedness and flexible working arrangements on talent retention among the young generation of employees in Malaysian pharmaceutical companies. This research will employ a cross-sectional survey design, using the questionnaire survey method to collect data on the study variables. The sampling technique used in this research is non-probability, purposive sampling. A sample will be collected from 348 young-generation employees working in pharmaceutical companies residing in Malaysia. PLS-SEM will be used to analyze the hypothesized relationships, providing valuable insight into critical factors influencing talent retention in pharmaceutical companies in Malaysia. The scarcity of research in the pharmaceutical context emphasizes the importance of identifying key influences on employee retention, which include training and development, job embeddedness, and flexible working arrangements. Interventions addressing these elements are critical for retaining skilled employees and improving organizational performance. The result of this research contributes to the comprehension of retention schemes, training and development plans, effective flexible work arrangements, and factors promoting job embeddedness. The findings guide organizational leaders in predicting employee preferences, reducing turnover rates, and implementing effective retention strategies, ultimately contributing to enhanced productivity and economic growth in Malaysia's pharmaceutical sector. The research also highlights the positive impact on employees' career advancement, employability, work-life balance, and overall well-being.
... The younger generations, namely the millennials and Generation Z, will comprise 75% of the workforce by 2025 (Jayathilake, 2019). Millennials, or Gen-Y, are a group of people who were born between 1980 and 1996 (Kuzior et al., 2022). ...
... To see the complete license contents, please visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ flexible work environment where they can work anytime and anywhere (Jayathilake, 2019). Kim et al. (2021) stated that they are also practical and individualistic, want ease and speed, and care about their emotional, physical, and financial safety. ...
Talented employees are a source of competitive advantage for companies in today’s competitive world. Retaining them has been a challenge for most organisations. The objective of this study is to understand the challenges of retaining talented employees, by reviewing the relevant literature on talent retention. The study identifies that career growth, workplace well-being, competition within the industry, globalisation and the new employment landscape are the challenges of talent retention. This study will help organisations to understand the challenges, which will then guide them in having the right solutions to solving this issue, especially in today’s highly competitive environment and the new employment landscape.
... Researchers in the sphere of Organizational Justice have mentioned that justice and fairness symbolize the relationship between not just the superior and the subordinate. However, it is a factor that generates trust in the organization as well (Jayathilake, 2019). Organizational justice, which entails objectivity concerning policies and procedures (procedural justice), distribution of rewards and resources (distributive justice), sharing of information (informational justice), and treating with respect and dignity (interpersonal justice), leads to the perception of fairness in the minds of the subordinates (Colquitt, 2001;Colquitt & Zipay, 2015). ...
... A respondent shared during the interview: Gen Z's perception of justice and fairness in terms of rewards positively impacts their performance, productivity, motivation, and satisfaction, besides trust in the superior and the organization (Jayathilake, 2019 According to Colquitt and Zipay (2015), justice issues arise in case of uncertainty. When subordinates are unsure about something or when something is not known, they focus more on justice issues. ...
The 21st Century workplaces offer diversity not just in terms of culture, gender, ethnicity, and race but also in age. Currently, employees from different generational groups are working alongside (Spence, 2009; Yadav & Chaudhari, 2018) in the organizations, showcasing their unique characteristics, beliefs, attitudes and work values (Yadav & Chaudhari, 2018). The substantial difference in expectations and expressions of a multi-generational workforce often leads to organizational conflicts, which defies the prevailing managerial practices related to managing the multi-generational workforce. Although multi-generational workplaces existed in the past, flattening organizational hierarchy in contemporary organizations has brought employees of different generational groups into comparatively closer contact than in the past (Spence, 2009), which directly impacts the success of not just the teams but also the organization. Hence it becomes significant to comprehend the workplace behaviour of a multi-generational workforce, especially when employees of different generational groups come in direct contact to function with one another. Understanding the workplace behaviour of a multi-generational workforce will help avoid any unforeseen future situation that may hamper the organization's growth, success, and development.
Therefore, the study was formulated to understand the Indian working professionals belonging to Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z generational groups. As the oldest generation of employees, Baby Boomers, retire and the youngest generation of employees, Gen Z, enters the workforce, there is a greater need for organizations to apprehend how to harness the diversity of the multi-generational workforce and prepare themselves for the challenges associated with it. Since employees of each generational group are distinct from one another, the study aims to understand the leadership preferences (highly preferred leadership behavioural attributes) of Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z employees. The study also intends to identify the factors causing relationship conflict in a superior-subordinate relationship (vertical dyad) and determine the impact of leadership preferences of Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z employees on relationship conflict in a vertical dyad. The researcher thoroughly reviewed the literature of previous studies conducted in the areas of Leadership Preferences, Vertical Dyad, Relationship Conflict, Procedural Justice, Distributive Justice, Interpersonal Justice, Informational Justice and Generation Gap.
The mixed method research design was used for the study, wherein data was obtained from both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study's first phase comprised qualitative research designed to understand the phenomenon related to leadership preferences of employees belonging to different generational groups and the causes for relationship conflict in a vertical dyad. This phase was followed by subsequent collection and analysis of quantitative data in the second phase, which constituted a pilot study. The final phase of the study comprised the final data collection and data analysis to understand and establish the cause-and-effect relationship between the variables, establish a statistical relationship between them, and ensure the generalizability of results. The second round of interviews was also conducted to validate the research findings.
The population for the study were primary workers in urban areas of India between the age group 15 and 49 as per Census 2011. The researcher adopted a non-probability sampling technique and mixed sample design, wherein convenience sampling, purposive (or judgment) sampling, snowball sampling, and virtual snowball sampling techniques were incorporated for data collection. The survey instrument for final data collection was adapted from the standardized scales available for measuring Leadership Preferences, Vertical Dyad, Relationship Conflict, Procedural Justice, Distributive Justice, Interpersonal Justice, Informational Justice and Generation Gap. The validity and reliability of the survey instrument were observed. Cronbach’s Alpha and Composite Reliability were used to test the reliability of the survey instrument, while the Average Variance Extracted was calculated to determine the validity. The face validity of the survey instrument was also adjudged.
The final sample size for the study was 1227 respondents (409 from each of the three generational groups- Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z). The data collected from the respondents were analyzed using various statistical tools. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett's Tests were run to ensure the adequacy of the sample size. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (One way ANOVA) were conducted, which was followed by path co-efficient analysis in Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Statistical software SPSS version 24 and AMOS version 23 were used to analyze the data.
A comparison of leadership preferences from three generational groups was required to identify if there is any difference in leadership preferences (highly preferred leadership attributes) of Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z employees. Such a comparison was made by way of analysis of variance (ANOVA). SEM was used to identify the significance and impact of one variable over the other and establish the mediating relationship between the variables. Nine structural models for Gen X, 13 structural models for Gen Y, and 11 structural models for Gen Z were created. Subsequently, the best-fit model was selected based on the criteria suggested by Hair et al. (2015). The hypotheses were tested based on the statistical details of the structural model of Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z employees. Data analysis accepted some of the hypothesized relationships, while some were rejected.
The study findings are notable and have contributed to the existing body of knowledge and filled the literature gap. The study findings are also noteworthy as they provide the superiors, the HR Managers, and the top management with an inexpensive way of understanding the preferences of their employees and identifying the means and measures to identify conflicts in a multi-generational workforce. Aside from this, the findings also facilitate general recommendations for different stakeholders to effectively manage a multi-generational workforce, especially in the Indian context. The study's limitations and the scope for future research are also outlined.
A generation is a group of people who share similar birth years, life experiences, and cultural influences. Generation Z is the current generation that has attracted much attention from researchers and practitioners. They are defined as those who were born after 1995 and are characterized by their digital nativism and unique characteristics. The aim of this paper is to understand how Generation Z distinguishes itself from previous generations, especially in terms of its values, attitudes, and behaviours. For this purpose, a systematic literature review was conducted using Google Scholar as the main database. The search results were filtered using inclusion and exclusion criteria based on the relevance, quality, and recency of the sources. The main findings of the review are that Generation Z are born after 1995 and are known as digital natives who are proficient in using technology and social media. They also possess unique characteristics such as being entrepreneurial, socially conscious, pragmatic, and diverse. The paper concludes that Generation Z is a distinct generational cohort that requires further research and attention from various stakeholders.
The corporate world was undergoing a phase of digital transformation overrecent past years which led to adopt the work from home practice in different industry contexts and this practice had been accelerated due to the COVID-19 outbreak. To obtain the optimum outcome from employees, it is the major responsibility of the organizations to ensure that they are satisfied enough with the new work settings since employee job satisfaction is one of the significant elements of an effective workforce. Therefore,the main objective of this study was to examine the impact of work from home on employee job satisfaction in Information Communication Industry (ICT) industry in Sri Lanka. Using the survey strategy, responses were collected through questionnaires from 384 employees from the ICT industry in Sri Lanka. The findings of this study concluded that there is a positive impact of work from home on employee job satisfaction in the ICT industry in Sri Lanka as work from home gives more freedom, autonomy, and work-life balance. Further, it identified that the ICT organizations in Sri Lanka use a high level of work home practice and their employees’ job satisfaction level is also relatively high. The theoretical contribution of this study is that it extends the employee job satisfaction literature by empirically testing and validating the work from home in a new context. Also, the findings of this research are useful for all the practitioners to increase employee job satisfaction by developing flexible and unique work from home practices. Accordingly, work from home could be used as a strong motivational strategy in the ICT industry as well as in other contexts.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate a conceptual framework on employee development, organizational performances and retention of Generation-Z employees in the new normal environment beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
With referring to the present literature and utilizing social-exchange and human needs approach, from this study, the authors illustrate a conceptual framework with democratize learning, reverse mentoring and intrepreneurship as key modifications for employee development perspective to retain Generation-Z employees and enhance organizational performance to secure the competitiveness.
Findings
Democratize learning, reverse mentoring and intrapreneurship have a significant potential impact on enhancing Generation-Z employees' development which may effect on attaining better organizational performance and employee retention. In addition, organizational performance may have a moderating effect on employee intention to stay longer.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed conceptual framework would be empirically validated in future research.
Practical implications
Based on the framework, the authors suggest approaches for Generation-Z specific retention strategies on upgrading the employee development subcategory under human resource function in terms of minimizing the disadvantages that are associated with the work from home concept in a post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
Originality/value
One of the very first studies to propose a holistic framework on employee development that subsequently impact on retaining Generation-Z employees in a pandemic situation. This article enriches the human resource management literature by explaining the novel moderating relationship that articulated from organizational performance to employee retention and focussing on Generation-Z employees (younger generation employees).
