Demographic change means that people are working longer, and not just in Germany. The world of work is already characterised by increasing age diversity, with different generations coming together and working together. The transfer of knowledge between generations plays a crucial role in this.
Research in this area has mainly focused on older employees passing on their knowledge to younger colleagues in order to keep them in the company. Anne Burmeister, holder of the WiSo Chair of Organisational Behaviour and member of the Econtribute Cluster of Excellence, and her colleagues Julian Pfrombeck (University of Hong Kong) and Gudela Grote (ETH Zurich) have now taken a closer look at an often neglected aspect. In a joint study, they analysed the dynamics of knowledge exchange between older and younger employees, with a view to understanding how older employees' search for knowledge affects their motivation and performance.
The study is based on data from 764 older employees with a minimum age of 45 years who had at least one face-to-face meeting or video call per week with younger colleagues (i.e. maximum 35 years old). It shows two opposing paths: The positive path leads to higher work motivation and ability through the perception of learning opportunities by older employees, at least if it is driven by an interest in learning. On the other hand, there are potential barriers due to experiences of embarrassment. According to Anne Burmeister, Gudela Grote and Julian Pfrombeck, older workers might experience embarrassment when seeking knowledge from younger colleagues because this behaviour violates organisational age norms that position older workers typically as knowledge providers, not as knowledge seekers and learners. In turn, embarrassment can negatively affect work ability.
According to the researchers, positive intergenerational affect is particularly important. Older people's enjoyment and well-being when interacting with younger colleagues acts as a buffer that reduces the negative effects of embarrassment. Overall, the transfer of knowledge from younger to older employees proved to be an important contribution to successful ageing in the workplace.
In addition to providing deep insights into the complex dynamics of cross-age knowledge sharing, the change in perspective allows Anne Burmeister's team to take an illuminating look at the dual effect of knowledge seeking on older workers. Published in the Journal of Organisational Behaviour, "Older workers' knowledge seeking from younger coworkers: Disentangling countervailing pathways to successful aging at work" offers strong practical implications for promoting positive intergenerational interactions in multigenerational workplaces.