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The literature on identity and identification can enrich our understanding of intergenerational behavior in organizations and society. In this chapter, I outline factors that lead the present generation to categorize future generations as part of their in-group, and circumstances under which people feel that it is consistent with their identity or self-concept to act on the behalf of future generations. Intergenerational identification is defined as the perception of “oneness” among generations such that multiple (two or more) generations consider themselves as part of a single group. I posit that intergenerational cooperation is more likely to occur when intergenerational identification is high. Finally, I elucidate the relationships among intergenerational identification, organizational identification, and intergenerational cooperation.

We review previous research on intergenerational conflict, focusing on the practical implications of this research for organizational leaders. We explain how the interaction between the interpersonal and intertemporal dimensions of intergenerational decisions creates the unique psychology of intergenerational decision-making behavior. In addition, we review the boundary conditions that have characterized much of the previous research in this area, and we examine the potential effects of loosening these constraints. Our proposals for future research include examination of the effect of intra-generational decision making on intergenerational beneficence, consideration of the role of third parties and linkage issues, investigation of the effects of intergenerational communications and negotiation when generations can interact, examination of the role of social power in influencing intergenerational interactions, investigation of the interaction between temporal construal and immortality striving, and exploration of the ways in which present decision makers detect and define the intergenerational dilemmas in their social environments.

Demographic changes and consequent diversification of teams of employees in organisations require us to change one’s approach to managing human resources and to search for new methods adjusted to contemporary challenges. One of such methods is reverse mentoring. It is a new form of mentoring where the younger employee is the mentor sharing expertise with the older employee. The purpose of this article is to identify advantages that reverse mentoring offers individuals who participate in the mentoring relationship – the younger mentor and the older mentee, and the entire organisation, as well as to identify conditions conducive to revealing desired advantages.

The article presents results of empirical research conducted based on the qualitative method and semi-structured individual interviews. The research focussed on five pairs from five different organisations operating in Poland who applied reverse mentoring as well as managers or human resources managers of these enterprises.

Research results show that reverse mentoring may offer numerous advantages to both individuals engaged in the relation (the mentor and the mentee) and the entire organisation. Thus, reverse mentoring seems to be an efficient tool for sharing knowledge, creating engagement, developing leadership and, first and foremost, building intergenerational relations based on mutual acceptance. Conclusions drawn from the research show that efficacy of reverse mentoring depends on the level of engagement in the mentor/mentee relation and the level of organisational support – engagement of the officers, supportive organisational culture and atmosphere conductive to cooperation.

One of the limitations of the research is the fact that reverse mentoring is not common in Polish organisations, thus the number of the interviews is limited. Furthermore, the data were collected from companies operating in Poland and they refer to one cultural circle. Another limitation is closely connected with the nature of qualitative research, as the research findings may be influenced by the personal perspective of participants.

The paper helps managers to build intergenerational relations. It encourages the use of reverse mentoring by emphasising its various benefits. It also specifies the conditions which need to be taken into consideration in order to increase the chances of enjoying the benefits, especially the necessity to prepare individual development plans adjusted to the needs and expectations of participants, proper selection of pairs for the mentoring relation and sufficient preparation of each party to the relation. This knowledge may be used by practitioners of managing human resources to develop organisational support for mentoring programmes.

The paper presents reverse mentoring as an opportunity for intergenerational knowledge sharing and developing intergenerational cooperation.

The results of the research extend the knowledge in the area of applying reverse mentoring to create intergenerational relationships. So far, this subject has received limited attention in the literature. Since reverse mentoring is not a widespread method, and research in this area is relatively rare, the value of the paper is to fill the gaps in this subject.

This paper aims to examine the influence of age and age‐related attitudes on relationship factors. In addition, it seeks to assess how both factors affect care service work performance.

The paper explores the influence of age and age‐related attitudes on the relationship quality among employees, affecting performance in mentally and physically demanding work settings. The authors conducted the research in six residential homes for the elderly in Germany (152 respondents) and collected the data with questionnaires. Data are analyzed by multi‐hierarchical regression analyses.

Results show that age‐related attitudes (intergenerational cooperation and the perception of older employees' capabilities) are important factors influencing the perceived quality level of in‐group cooperation. Both age‐related attitudes and relationship factors influence perceived employee performance, and job satisfaction.

The findings contribute to understanding how age‐related attitudes influence relationships among employees, the relationship between employees and supervisor, and the effect on service performance. The mono‐cultural sample might be a limitation, as well as the composition of the sample: The majority of respondents were female.

For leaders, supervisors and managers the results contribute to understanding how employees' age‐related attitudes, in mentally and physically demanding work settings, influence the quality level of relationships and outcomes. This is relevant in the context of leaders/supervisors promoting followers' individual development and group/team development.

The paper shows that in care service work with an increasing number of older employees, the positive perception of age‐related attitudes influences relationship quality and performance positively.

The purpose of this study is to identify the needs and concerns of older people in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India during the lockdown phase of the Covid-19 crisis. The study also aims to present a viable model for extending needed support through a telephone helpline run by a team of young student volunteers.

The study uses a thematic analysis of the interaction between callers (service users) and volunteers.

The study shows that the main reasons that motivate the use of the helpline are to seek medical advice and to request medical services and medical supplies free of charge. However, the study also shows that other reasons for calling the helpline are feelings of loneliness and the need for psychological support, especially due to insufficient assistance from families.

The study shows the benefits of providing this type of service for older people during a time of national health crisis. The service is cost-effective and offers a one-stop assistance point.

The service also constitutes an avenue for building intergenerational solidarity and empathy between younger and older people. This is especially important for citizens who feel socially isolated and disconnected from the rest of society.

The study offers a model for an easily created resource that could usefully be exported to other geographic settings.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight challenges and opportunities that surround the process of intergenerational learning and knowledge transfer. Several options in this regard have been discussed from the managerial and employee perspective.

The systems approach has been implemented to identify options of intergenerational learning and knowledge transfer that could be valuable when developing a strong individual and organizational body of knowledge with the purpose to avoid the “knowledge crash.”

A review and analysis regarding intergenerational diversity, especially in the light of information and communication technology and social media, has been proposed along with the discussion on possible intergenerational knowledge transfer practices and methods of developing learning agility in all generations though engaging in internal mobility and building communities of practice and learning.

Conclusions and remarks provided in the paper need further empirical testing and validation.

Implications for practitioners, especially mangers, have been identified regarding recommendations for implementing intergenerational knowledge transfer solutions which could benefit all stakeholders – not only younger and senior employees but also managers responsible for pursuing enterprise development based on continuous learning and knowledge sharing.

Implementation of suggestions provided in the paper regarding intergenerational knowledge transfer and learning could result in significant benefits in terms of less intergenerational conflict and stress and greater organizational working cohesion as well as further advancements in organizational learning and knowledge management.

Challenges that surround the process of intergenerational learning and knowledge transfer have been identified along with options to manage this complicated and often delicate processes from the managerial and employee perspective.

We explore how cultural factors at both socio-economic and psychological individual levels affect the present generation's beneficence toward future generations in organizations and society. We examine how socio-economic mechanisms may influence the present generation's focus on the future consequences of their decisions. In addition, we examine how self-construals in different cultures might result in different mechanisms underlying the reduction of psychological distance between generations in different cultures. Implications of our cross-cultural analysis to intergenerational decision making within the context of group research in general are discussed.

Japan, the world’s “oldest” society, has adopted intergenerational care programmes as one solution to the challenges of caring for its growing population of people living with dementia. Many countries are drawing inspiration from these intergenerational programmes, but research exploring factors influencing intergenerational care practice and how far these programmes can be translated in other countries is more limited. This paper aims to explore how environmental design features are used to support intergenerational initiatives in Japan. By examining four case studies, the paper illustrates how intergenerational engagement can be enabled and supported through environmental design.

The research adopts a qualitative methodology, using observations, workshops and photographic elicitations within four case study sites: two residential care facilities, a community centre and supported housing scheme and a restaurant staffed by people with dementia.

Two key themes emerge: encouraging community engagement through intergenerational shared spaces, and the role of intergenerationality in supporting social and economic participation. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the key principles through which other countries can translate lessons gained from the Japanese experience of intergenerational programmes into their own health and social care systems.

This paper provides international evidence of the role environmental design plays in supporting the development of intergenerational relationships among people with dementia and the wider community. Intergenerational engagement is community engagement; therefore, promoting community engagement is essential to promoting intergenerational care practice. Environmental design can play a key role in providing affordances through which such relationships can develop.

The purpose of this paper is to provide the systematic analysis of an innovative, intergenerational knowledge transfer strategy in a knowledge‐intensive organization.

The case study method was adopted to study the intergenerational knowledge transfer activities. A triangulated approach was employed in respect of the data collection, which included non‐participatory observation, focus groups, documentary analysis, and semi‐structured interviews. A pattern analysis of data account was undertaken.

Two models for intergenerational knowledge transfer are presented: the source‐recipient model and the model of mutual exchange. This research also shows how a context conducive to knowledge transfer was developed, and concludes that this context allowed both explicit and tacit knowledge to be transferred.

Often ignored or underestimated this study highlights the need for motivation, inspiration, and empowerment in knowledge transfer. The main limitation of this study is the generalizability of the findings.

The two models for intergenerational knowledge transfer provide a rubric against which both old and new intergenerational knowledge transfer initiatives can be assessed to determine whether they are capable of encouraging the transfer of both explicit and tacit knowledge.

There is little empirical work on the design and implementation of strategies for managing organizational memory. The integrated models and empirical results of this study can serve as guides in that process.

Women perform the majority of household labour in many families around the world. However, the unequal division of household labour does not lead to dissatisfaction among women. In the present study, the author introduced the intergenerational household assistance to understand married women’s and men’s satisfaction with division of household labour in China, in addition to three major theoretical perspectives in studies of western families (i.e., relative resources, time availability, and gender role ideology). Logistic regression analyses on a nationally representative dataset (the Second Wave Survey of Chinese Women’s Social Status) were performed to study this topic. Consistent with studies in the West, the results show that relative resources, time availability, and gender ideology were associated with married Chinese women’s satisfaction, while married Chinese men’s satisfaction was only associated with time availability (the household labour done by them and their wives). Importantly, married women with parents-in-law’s household assistance tend to be more satisfied than those with help from their parents. The findings demonstrate that Chinese marriages are intertwined with intergenerational relationships and suggest that it is important to take into account of the influence of intergenerational relationships in studies of Chinese marriages.