Examining generational differences in the workplace: Narcissism, work centrality, and the impact on employee engagement and discretionary effort

IF 1.9 Q3 MANAGEMENT

INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAINING Pub Date : 2023-08-03 DOI:10.1108/ict-05-2022-0035

Piyachat Burawat

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the structural relationship model among narcissism, work centrality, employee engagement and discretionary effort. Design/methodology/approach Respecting the quantitative approach, the data were gathered by means of the survey completed by 1,190 respondents of Generation X, Y and Z working in the Thai service and manufacturing industries. Findings The findings of the study indicated positive associations between narcissism and work centrality, narcissism and employee engagement, work centrality and employee engagement and employee engagement and discretionary effort. It was observed that work centrality played a partially mediating role in the relationships between narcissism and employee engagement, while employee engagement fully mediated the associations between work centrality and discretionary effort, as well as between narcissism and discretionary effort. The structural model demonstrated variations across different generational cohorts, suggesting that the relationships differed among generations. However, the model did not exhibit any variations across different types of industries. Furthermore, the findings from the Thai samples indicated that generational differences had a moderating effect on the path relationships between narcissism and work centrality (with Generation Y having a stronger effect compared to Generation Z and Generation X), narcissism and employee engagement (with Generation Y having a stronger effect compared to Generation Z and Generation X) and narcissism and discretionary effort (with Generation X having a stronger effect compared to Generation Y and Generation Z), all with a significance level of 95%. Additionally, the relationship between employee engagement and discretionary effort showed a significant difference across generations, with Generation Z exhibiting a stronger effect compared to Generation Y and Generation X, at a significance level of 99%. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence supporting the positive relationships between narcissism and work centrality, as well as narcissism and employee engagement, contrary to previous research findings. The results reveal that employee engagement fully mediates the associations between work centrality and discretionary effort, as well as between narcissism and discretionary effort, offering valuable contributions to the existing literature. Furthermore, this study expands on previous research by examining the moderating effect of industry type, specifically comparing manufacturing and service industries. The findings suggest that the model exhibits variations across different generational cohorts, highlighting the importance of considering generational differences in understanding these relationships. However, the model does not exhibit variations across different types of industries.

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研究工作场所的代际差异:自恋、工作中心以及对员工敬业度和自由裁量努力的影响

目的探讨自恋、工作中心性、员工敬业度和自由裁量努力之间的结构关系模型。设计/方法/方法尊重定量方法，数据是通过在泰国服务业和制造业工作的1190名X、Y和Z世代受访者完成的调查收集的。研究结果表明，自恋与工作中心性、自恋与员工敬业度、工作中心性与员工敬业度、员工敬业度与自由裁量努力之间存在正相关关系。研究发现，工作中心性在自恋与员工敬业度之间起部分中介作用，而员工敬业度在工作中心性与自由裁量努力、自恋与自由裁量努力之间起完全中介作用。结构模型显示了不同世代之间的差异，表明代际之间的关系是不同的。然而，该模型在不同类型的行业中没有表现出任何变化。此外，泰国样本的研究结果表明，代际差异对自恋和工作中心性之间的路径关系有调节作用(与Z一代和X一代相比，Y一代的影响更强)。自恋和员工敬业度(Y一代比Z一代和X一代有更强的影响)以及自恋和自由裁量努力(X一代比Y一代和Z一代有更强的影响)，都有95%的显著性水平。此外，员工敬业度与自由裁量努力之间的关系在各代之间表现出显著差异，Z一代比Y一代和X一代表现出更强的影响，显著性水平为99%。独创性/价值本研究提供了与以往研究结果相反的实证证据，支持自恋与工作中心性以及自恋与员工敬业度之间的正相关关系。研究结果表明，员工敬业度在工作中心性与自由裁量努力之间、自恋与自由裁量努力之间具有完全中介作用，为现有文献提供了有价值的贡献。此外，本研究在前人研究的基础上，进一步考察了产业类型的调节效应，并对制造业和服务业进行了比较。研究结果表明，该模型显示了不同世代群体的差异，强调了在理解这些关系时考虑代际差异的重要性。然而，该模型并未显示出不同类型行业之间的差异。

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来源期刊

INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAINING MANAGEMENT-

CiteScore

3.10

自引率

7.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： ■Action learning-principles and practice ■Applications of new technology ■Careers management and counselling ■Computer-based training and interactive video ■Continuing management education ■Learning methods, styles and processes ■Managing change ■Marketing, sales and customer services ■New training and learning methods ■Quality circles, team-working and business games ■Recruitment and selection ■Specialist training-needs and methods ■Youth employment and training ■Topicality Too much training theory takes too long to read and may not have immediate practical advantages.