ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS AND THE GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES

Abstract

Diversity is a reality that is becoming more and more important in modern businesses. One of the factors contributing to this diversity is the age gap between generations. It is hard for the different generations to work with each others, since each of them has its own work-attitudes and characteristics, which may result in various intergenerational conflicts. This paper aims to understand each of the generations operating in the workplace, and the consequences of their interactions. Our research tasks are first, to identify the organizational conflicts between employees, then to briefly expose the different characteristics of the generations X and Y, and finally to elucidate the nature of the relationship between these two generations within the company. We have conducted an exploratory case study by inducting semi-structured interviews with employees of a Moroccan company, belonging to both gen X and gen Y. We analyzed our interviewees’ answers and concluded that the relationship between members of different generations can lead to different types of conflicts, which can have a positive or negative effect on the organizations and the work climate.