Document Type
Thesis
First Faculty Advisor
Diya Das
Second Faculty Advisor
Ron Deluga
Keywords
generational differences; women; personal values; workplace values; generation Z; millenials
Publisher
Bryant University
Rights Management
CC 4.0 BY-NC-ND
Abstract
The rate at which women are entering the workforce is beginning to increase exceptionally. There are 109,000 more women working than men according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics. While, men and women are found to value the same aspects of work, they tend to rank them differently. This study will aim to explore the similarities and differences between women in different generations. The three main questions for the study are: 1) How are women in different generations similar and different depending on their perceptions on values?; 2) Are there differences in personality across generations?; And 3) What perceptions do employers have about these new generations and how are they preparing for the Millennials and Gen Z in the workforce? While workplace values have been widely studied and also compared between genders; no study looked specifically into how women’s values and personality might vary across generations. In order to address these questions, an in-depth survey was conducted across Generation Z, Millennials, and Gen X along with interviews with several companies. Key findings show that generations are similar and different depending on their values; there are slight differences between the personality traits Neuroticism and Conscientiousness; and companies are not changing their training based on the incoming generation. Based on these findings, the study provides several recommendations that can help HR at companies understand more about Generation Z.
