TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose Seasoned workers often complain that their Millennial colleagues lack organizational commitment (OC). Research findings, however, are mixed. Furthermore, research suggests that employee professional development increases job satisfaction and reduces turnover. Still, few studies have examined if professional development increases commitment, particularly among Millennials. This paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach This study compared survey responses, gathered through social media, of Generation X (GenX) and Millennial employees on the relationship between employee development (ED) and OC.Findings Millennials (vs GenXers) reported significantly lower levels of continuance commitment, but no differences on normative and affective commitment. GenXers reported more affective and normative commitment than Millennials when having ED opportunities.Practical implications ED opportunities may not be similarly impactful on OC across generational cohorts. It might stimulate commitment amongst GenXers, but not Millennials.Social implications Findings also suggest that ED programs may be a normalized fixture in organizations today and that Millennials may take ED opportunities for granted.Originality/value This study is the first to identify potential factors influencing differences between GenXers and Millennials on OC. More research is needed to identify approaches to increasing Millenials’ commitment if managers want to keep their best employees or to ensure training and development is impactful.
VL  - 51
IS  - 1
SN  - 0019-7858
DO  - 10.1108/ICT-07-2018-0061
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/ICT-07-2018-0061
AU  - Glazer Sharon
AU  - Mahoney Adam C.
AU  - Randall Yari
PY  - 2018
Y1  - 2018/01/01
TI  - Employee development’s role in organizational commitment: a preliminary investigation comparing generation X and millennial employees
T2  - Industrial and Commercial Training
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 1
EP  - 12
Y2  - 2024/04/23
ER  -