Emotional differences across generations in the workplace: an empirical study of trust, respect, empathy, communication, and employee well-being

Abstract

 

The modern office consists of several generations—Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z—each reflecting different societal shifts, historical movements and technological advances that influence emotional inclination, communication styles and organizational standards. These emotional variances impact how employees sense trust, care, empathy, communication and workplace wellness. This paper provides a quantitative account of the link between emotional aspects of generations and employee well-being. Survey data were gathered from 102 individuals in three different organizations. Reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and regression modeling were performed in SPSS to evaluate the internal consistency, factor structure and predictive power of four principal emotional constructs– (trust), respect(x-respect), empathy and effective communication towards employee well-being. Results show that trust, respect, and empathy have a positive and significant relationship to well-being whereas effective communication does not exhibit statistically significant influence. The implications include developing insights into generational emotional mindsets for emotionally intelligent leadership and organizational policies to support intergenerational cooperation, trust, and well-being.