Essay: Millennials workplace study

CHAPTER 1: NATURE OF THE STUDY
Background
The modern workplace is characterized by people from different generations working side-by-side (Kaifi, Nafei, Khanfar, & Kaifi, 2012; Gursoy, Chi, & Karadag, 2013).  The workers in the modern workplace can be classified into four generational cohorts: Silent (1925-1945), Baby Boomer (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1979), and Millennial (1980-2000) (Strauss & Howe, 1991).  The presence of different workers from different generations can create workplace tension that can affect (Cahill & Mona Sedrak, 2012; Kaifi et al., 2012).  There are no explicit interventions that address generational differences in the workplace most of the time, with leaders assuming that tensions would dissipate naturally (Cahill & Mona Sedrak, 2012).
Workers from different generations have different values and expectations (Gardner & Macky, 2012).  Generational difference in the workplace is a social force that can affect the dynamics of the relationship between leader and employees (Lyons & Kuron, 2014).  As a result, leading a generationally diverse workplace can be a challenge for leaders (Becton, Walker, & Jones‐Farmer, 2014).  However, Weber (2015) noted that even though millennials have different values than their older generation counterparts, the difference is only subtle and small.
Research on the effects and implications of the different values and beliefs across different generations in the workplace is inconclusive (Becton et al., 2104; Costanza, Badger, Fraser, Severt, & Gade, 2012; Lu & Gursoy, 2013; Weber, 2014).  Some studies showed that generational differences affect the dynamics in a workplace (Lu & Gursoy, 2013).  Other researchers found that the effects of generational differences in the workplace are either not significant or minimal (Becton et al., 2104; Costanza et al., 2012).
Some of the positive characteristics that have been used to describe millennials are enthusiastic, engaged, inclusive, sociable, achievers, and curious (Akhras, 2015).  Millennials tend to place more value on relationships over accomplishing tasks and organizational goals (Graybill, 2014; Maier, Tavanti, Bombard, Gentile, & Bradford, 2015).  According to Graybill (2014), the tendency of millennials to put more value on relationship-based qualities such as teamwork, communication, and respect may have an implication with the traditional leadership model of emphasizing individual skills.  Conversely, Weber (2014) found that the millennial generation also values the personal rather than the social and competence rather than the moral just like their older generation counterparts.
There is also a popular notion that millennials can be needy, disloyal, casual, and entitled (Thompson & Gregory, 2012).  Corporate leaders do not have complete confidence about the abilities of millennials to fill various leadership positions (Lund & Thomas, 2012).  These negative impressions and contradictory findings underscore the lack of information about millennials as a generational cohort (Thompson & Gregory, 2012).  Given these popular notions and conceptualization about the work ethics and values of millennials as a generational cohort that are not empirically supported, this study will focus on exploring the lived experience of millennials in leading a generationally diverse workplace.
Based on the framework of the leadership style theory (Lewin, Lippit, & White, 1939), millennials are expected to possess several leadership behaviors or characteristics, which may be similar or different from other older generations.  The leadership style theory generally classifies leadership as autocratic, democratic, and laissez faire based on their behaviors and practices.  This study will focus on examining the leadership practices and behaviors of millennials based on exploring their lived experience in leading a generationally diverse workplace.
Problem Statement
The general problem is that Baby Boomers are retiring and millennials are taking over the vacancies in the workplace, including leadership positions (Kaifi et al., 2012).  The current workplace is in the process of transitioning from one management framework to another based on changes in generational cohort (Bennett, Pitt, & Price, 2012).  Millennials have different values, beliefs, practices, and aspiration compared to older generations (Chou, 2012; Gardner & Macky, 2012).  For instance, millennials tend to be more technologically savvy compared to Baby Boomers and older generations, which has implications for communications and expectations between employees and leaders (Gursoy et al., 2013).  Millennials also value collaborative and inclusive leadership style, which may not align with the more task-oriented styles of older generations (Maier et al., 2015).
The implication of generational differences in the workplace is mixed.  Lu and Gursoy (2013) found that generational differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers can be factors accounting for differences in job satisfaction, job turnover, and burnout.  However, Costanza et al. (2012) found that generational differences did not play a role in influencing job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to turnover, suggesting that other factors are responsible.  Becton et al. (2014) argued that generational differences may not be a strong predictor of work attitudes and behaviors in the workplace.
The specific problem is that the understanding of the nature of leadership of millennials in a generationally diverse workplace remains limited (Chou, 2012).  Research on the values and leadership practices of millennials are currently limited and inconclusive (Thompson & Gregory, 2012).  As Baby Boomers continue to retire, Millennials are taking over the leadership vacancies in the workplace (Kaifi et al., 2012).  According to Hartman and McCambridge (2011), understanding the leadership practices, beliefs, and preferences of millennials is imperative because this generation is currently leading different organizations and will continue to be leaders of organizations of the future.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the proposed qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the lived experience of millennials in leading a generationally diverse workplace.  The geographic location where the study will be conducted is Chicago, Illinois.  The sample will consist of 10 millennial leaders in various work settings ranging from religious organizations, health care, and non-profit companies.  Convenience sampling will be used in order to accommodate the limited time available to collect, analyze, and present the results.  By using personal relationships to select participants in the sample, the ethical implication of using the convenience sampling technique is the possibility of collecting information that can be considered as confidences, forecasted data that lack accurate support, and the objectification of participants (Brewis, 2014).  Data will be collected using semi-structured interviews, which will be conducted face-to-face.
Research Questions
Baby Boomers are retiring and millennials are taking over the vacancies in the workplace, including leadership positions (Kaifi et al., 2012).  The specific problem that will be addressed in the proposed study is that the understanding of the nature of leadership of millennials in a generationally diverse workplace remains limited (Chou, 2012).  Given this research problem, the purpose of the proposed qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the lived experience of millennials in leading a generationally diverse workplace.  Based on the problem and purpose identified, the research questions of the study are the following:
RQ1.  What are the lived experiences of millennials with regard to leading a generationally diverse workplace?
RQ2.  What are the challenges encountered by millennials with regard to leading a generationally diverse workplace?
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework of the study will be based on Lewin et al.’s (1939) leadership style theory, which was based on experiments involving children whose decision-making processes were observed.  The results of the experiment led to three leadership styles: (a) autocratic, (b) democratic, and (c) laissez faire.  According to Lewin et al. (1939), the most effective leadership style is democratic because too much autocracy led to conflicts and too much laissez faire led to disorganization as a result of lack of direction.  Lewin et al.’s (1939) theory is influential for showing that leaders exhibit a set of behaviors that define their leadership style.  Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual framework of the study, indicating that as a generational cohort, millennials have a distinct leadership style that manifests in terms of their behaviors and practices in the workplace.
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework
According to Chou (2012), Lewin et al.’s leadership style theory is the foundation of many research studies about leadership.  The leadership style theory of Lewin et al. (1939) is relevant in exploring the leadership style of millennials because of the recognition that as a generational cohort, millennials have a distinct leadership style that may be different from other generational cohorts (Chou, 2012).  Examining the leadership style of millennials is particularly important because previous studies primarily focused on values, behaviors, and practices, but not in terms of leadership style (Chou, 2012).
Supporting the selection of the theory for the proposed study, Vanmullem and Hondeghem (2009) used Lewin et al.’s (1939) leadership style theory as their framework.  The study involved exploring the leadership motivations of leaders from different generational cohorts.  Vanmullem and Hondeghem (2009) specifically focused on the aspects of leadership that can be considered as universal or contingent.  Using the leadership style theory, this study showed that leadership style differs based on age group.
There is some evidence that leadership of millennials is different from other generational cohorts (Cates, Cojanu, & Pettine, 2013).  However, there is still not clear understanding documenting the leadership styles that millennials possess (Thompson & Gregory, 2012).  Based on two key work-related characteristics that are often used to describe millennials such as their propensity for social relationship and communication, Chou (2012) believed that millennials are likely to have high levels of participative leadership style.  Kuhl (2014) contended that millennial leaders are likely to be effective leading a diverse working environment because of their openness for collaboration and teamwork.
Scope and Delimitations
Delimitations are characteristics that limit the scope of the study.  The first delimitation is that the study will only focus on exploring the lived experience of millennials in leading a generationally diverse workplace.  This research will not use statistical techniques or examine the relationship of different variables.  The second delimitation is that the study will be based on the perspectives of millennial leaders in various work settings ranging from religious organizations, health care, and non-profit companies.  Even though their employees might provide useful insights, this study will only focus on the perspectives of leaders.  The final delimitation of the study is that data collection will only focus on using semi-structured interviews as the tool to explore the perspectives of leaders.  Even though personal essays, artworks, and other forms of self-expression can be sued in phenomenological research, this study will rely on semi-structured interviews.
Definition of Key Terms
To prevent confusion and misuse of intended meaning, the following key terms are defined:
Baby Boomers.  Baby Boomers refer to a generational cohort consisting of individuals born between 1946 and 1964 (Strauss & Howe, 1991).
Millennials.  Millennials refers to a generational cohort consisting of individuals born between 1980 and 2000 (Strauss & Howe, 1991).
Generation.  Strauss and Howe (1991) defined generations as cohort-groups whose age group and life experiences shape a shared generational traits and peer personality.
Generation X.  Generation X is generational cohort consisting of individuals born between 1965 and 1979 (Strauss & Howe, 1991).
Silent generation.  The Silent generation refers to individuals born between 1925 and 1945 (Strauss & Howe, 1991).
Significance of the Study
The results of the study is significant to other millennial employees who are about to take leadership roles or have recently assumed leadership positions in their companies by having access to information about the different practices that millennial leaders adopt to lead a generationally diverse workplace.  Leading a generationally diverse workplace can be challenging because of several perspectives from different cohorts that may not always be in accordance with each other (Lu & Gursoy, 2013).  The findings may provide insights to other millennial leaders that could help in successfully leading a generationally diverse workplace.
Even though the proposed study will focus on the experiences of millennial leaders in the United States, the results may also be applicable internationally.  There is evidence that millennials share similar characteristics cross-nationally (Bucic, Harris, & Arli, 2012), highlighting the possible relevance of the results of the study not only to millennial leaders in the United States.  The results of the study may provide useful empirical support for future studies on millennial leadership, both at the local and international levels.
The study is also significant because the findings may expand the literature on millennial leadership by providing information on the key practices and behaviors of the general cohort as a group.  Research on the values and leadership practices of millennials remain limited and inconclusive (Thompson & Gregory, 2012).  The results of the study may lead to an enhanced understanding of the generational cohort of millennials as leaders in the workplace.
Summary
The problem that this study will address is that the understanding of the nature of leadership of millennials in a generationally diverse workplace remains limited (Chou, 2012).  The purpose of the proposed qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the lived experience of millennials in leading a generationally diverse workplace.  The conceptual framework of the study will be based on Lewin et al.’s (1939) leadership style theory, indicating that as a generational cohort, millennials have a distinct leadership style that manifests in terms of their behaviors and practices in the workplace.  This study is significant because of the insights that may be gained about leading a generationally diverse workplace based on the lived experience of millennial leaders.
Chapter 2 will present literature related to Millennials in the workplace and their leadership.  Chapter 3 will present a detailed look at phenomenology and how this research design will be used to explore the lived experience of millennials in leading a generationally diverse workplace.  The chapter will also include discussions of the population and sample, data collection procedures, validity, instrumentation, data processing, assumptions and limitations, and ethical assurances.
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Millennials workplace study
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