The differences in work values among generations of modern workers

The social-demographic group of workers is highly differentiated: during the last century lifetime increased and people started to work longer. Every worker from graduate students to retired workers has their own set of values. They formed in different times with their own heroes, stars, music and core events influencing their perception of environment. That means their motivation also will be different. We are convinced that the reward system with an individualistic approach will be an effective tool for increasing workers' performance and their loyalty to the company. Despite the interest in the USA to generation theory characterizing work values of different generations has not been studied or proved with empirical support. The purpose of this quantitative study is to find significant differences in preferences of work values among the four generational cohorts of architectures and engineers working in building and construction sphere. Research on work values has found that work values predict job satisfaction and vocational interests and are associated with career choice and work performance. A match between an employee's values and the reinforcement of these values in the work place positively influence on intentions to stay in the job. The results of the 18 items on the work values of architectures and engineers indicated that there were significant differences in preferences among the generations. The results of the mean score ratings show there is some homogeneity among key preferences of work values for all four generations. The five values receiving the highest overall mean scores account for all of the top 1 and 2 highest mean scores for each generation. Understanding the differences among generations in their preferences of work values has practical applications. At a minimum, understanding these differences can help organizations create better talent acquisition and retention strategies that target the preferences of each generation. These strategies can involve both targeted communication regarding policies and values that the company wants to highlight, as well as revisions of policies and resources to offer work environments more closely aligned with generational preferences. Organizations can better craft communications about their mission, vision and values to highlight aspects of the organization that are important to particular generations. Given the homogeneity of the preferred values scores, management may be able to match their actual work values supported in the company to the ones desired by workers. Organizations that communicate these values frequently may do a better job of attracting, hiring and retaining those who are inspired by the espoused values, which is especially important in time of labour transformation.

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