dc.description.abstract | Background: A world of increasing complexity and ambiguity requires the existence
innovative leaders who can find ways of solving the serious problems that affect individuals,
organizations and society. This tumultuous world, brought about by the breakneck speed of
transformation, has given rise, among other afflictions, to feelings of anxiety, which are
reflected in human relations. At the same time, the world is undergoing a fourth industrial
revolution, which envisages far-reaching changes in the way we live, hope, dream, and, more
specifically, in the way we work and the very meaning of work itself. Technological advances
thus oblige companies to adopt new ways of operating in the market and new strategies for
mitigating the impact on relations at work. Some work teams now straddle four generations:
Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), Generation X (1965-1980), Generation Y
(1981-1997), and Generation Z (born after 1998). This new configuration of the work force is
increasingly posing challenges for managers who are charged with building multigenerational
teams to work together to achieve the company’s goals. The aim of the present study is thus to
provide an overview of recent developments in business, focusing in particular on
multigenerational relations and the pressure exerted by successive industrial revolutions. More
specifically, the aim is to historicize the world of work and the major revolutions it has
undergone; to map the trends being generated by this coexistence of multiple generations; and
to examine the issues caused for the world of work by this succession of industrial revolutions.
We thus carried out a qualitative, cross-sectional study guided by cartography. The narrative
interviews were conducted online with eight members of staff from two private companies. A
field diary was also used to produce narratives, which, together with those of the participants,
were used to describe the experience examined by this study. The theories of Gilles Deleuze
and Felix Guattari were employed to shed further light on these narratives. Results and
Discussion: Six planes of analysis emerged from the interviews: Plane 1 -- Multigenerational
Coexistence: signs of conflict; Plane 2 -- Power, Authority and Hierarchy: intergenerational
relations; Plane 3 -- Lessons Learnt: the potential of the meeting of generations; Plane 4 --
Technology: generational facilities and difficulties; Plane 5 -- The Shock of the Pandemic and
Home-oficce: modes of subjectivization in the wake of COVID 19; The participants indicated
that conflicts do exist at work, but are not serious enough to affect the group dynamic. Staffmembers acquire knowledge both formally and informally. It was found that older generations,
principally the Baby Boomers, experienced difficulty with new technology, while younger
ones, especially Generation Z, exhibited great facility in this regard. The COVID-19 pandemic
posed a challenge for staff insofar as their homes were transformed from one moment to the
next into a workspace. For some participants, working from home has meant that working
hours encroach upon leisure time, meals, and family life. The main characteristics of the
companies reported by participants were respect for managers and peers and intergenerational
exchange of experience. Concluding Remarks: although it is often dogmatically stated in the
literature that intergenerational relations at work give rise to deleterious conflict, this was not
the finding of the present study. In the companies covered here, only low-level conflict was
found. Relations with peers and managers are characterized by a working environment
pervaded by a healthy corporate culture of co-operation and respect for fellow human beings. | eng |