Baby Boomers and the Lost Generation: On the Discursive Construction of Generations at Work. Issue 11 (November 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pritchard, Katrina; Whiting, Rebecca
• Other Names: Ainsworth Susan guest-editor.; Cutcher Leanne guest-editor.; Hardy Cynthia guest-editor.; Thomas Robyn guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Organization studies. Volume 35:Issue 11(2014)
• Page Start: 1605
• Page End: 1626
• Publication Date: 2014-11
• Subjects: age -- discourse -- generations; Organizational sociology -- Periodicals; Organizational behavior -- Periodicals; Organization -- Periodicals; 302.35
• DOI: 10.1177/0170840614550732
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0170-8406

Abstract

Generations, and generational categories, offer a means of organizing our understandings of age and age-related issues. Particularly within practitioner-orientated debates, differences between generations are highlighted as creating tensions which organizations must address. In contrast, we offer a critical interrogation of generations and unpack the implications of particular constructions. Specifically we examine the discursive construction of generational issues in United Kingdom online news about age at work, focusing on baby boomers and the lost generation. We highlight the discursive work involved in constructing each generation as entitled to work and how responsibility for employment issues is variously positioned. These interrelated concerns develop into a debate about consequences, as different versions of the future are constructed. In contrast to essentialized understandings, our study shows how generations and generational categories are constructed and organize understandings of age at work. We further highlight how the constructions of generational differences and tensions become enrolled to legitimate age-related differences with regard to work. Such insights are essential to further our understandings of age-related issues in contemporary organizing.