Date of Award

2010

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

This dissertation details the development and validation of the Workplace Intergenerational Atmosphere (WIA) scale over two studies. Given the growing number of older adults in the American workforce and the possibility of four generations working side by side, the WIA scale was designed to measure attitudes and perceptions about workers of different ages in the workplace. In Study 1, using a sample of workers from a non-profit organization, 23 initial items were reduced to 18, including five subscales: Intergenerational Contact, Workplace Intergenerational Retention, Positive Affect, Workplace Generational Inclusiveness, and Lack of Stereotypes. The relationships between WIA scores and mentoring, perceptions of older workers, and job satisfaction were explored through traditional statistical techniques. In Study 2, using a larger sample of workers from a long-term healthcare organization, the WIA scale and its subscales were further refined, and its structural, criterion, convergent, and discriminant validities were supported via structural equation modeling. Validation should be expanded to include more diverse samples, but results suggest that the WIA scale measures a unique concept and should be of use to organizations interested in improving workforce intergenerational dynamics.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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