The relationship between age diversity and well-being in virtual workplaces

: exploring the role of age stereotypes, communication, team identification and creativity

Abstract

Age diversity – the extent to which members of a work team show dissimilarities in their age – has been identified as a potential factor in individual well-being. We examined the extent to which age diversity affects individual-level perceptions (creativity, communication, and group identification) and, in turn, the well-being of virtual team members. The results of diversity research to date have been inconclusive in terms of the positive or negative effects of team composition on individual well-being. This paper proposes that the relationship between age diversity and each individual-level perception is moderated by the level of age stereotypes each individual holds. We further postulate that the level of age stereotypes individuals have moderates the effect of age diversity on well-being through each perception. We propose that the indirect effect is negative and stronger when age stereotypes are more pronounced. We tested our hypotheses using data from a total sample of 202 participants and a subset of this sample that included only participants younger than 29 years (n = 119). Moderation effects were found to be significant only for communication and not for creativity or group identification. For the mediator communication, moderated mediation was confirmed for both samples, whereas for creativity, the effect was significant only for the young sample and for group identification for neither sample. The implications of these results are discussed.

Date of Award	2 Feb 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ana Paula Giordano (Supervisor)