The intergenerational climate of Spanish university research

Abstract

ABSTRACT The knowledge economy has transformed society and the university environment, which has moved towards the market model. The profound changes produced under this new model have had implications for institutional functions, especially research. In Spain, this transformation has also coincided with the intergenerational overlap of researchers. Consequently, research on intergenerational relations has become an area of interest and concern. This study analyses the intergenerational climate of Spanish research by administering the Workplace Intergenerational Climate Scale. This questionnaire has five subscales: lack of generational stereotypes, positive intergenerational affect, intergenerational contact, workplace generational inclusiveness, and workplace intergenerational retention. A total of 2003 researchers from 10 Spanish public universities participated in this study. The findings suggest a favourable intergenerational climate in Spanish research, albeit with some generational stereotypes. Older researchers (Baby Boomers and Generation X) showed the most positive perception of the various aspects of the intergenerational climate of Spanish research, represented by the different subscales. As a positive intergenerational climate in research settings leads to improvements at the individual, group, and institutional levels, higher education institutions should regularly diagnose and improve their intergenerational climate towards overcoming generational stereotypes, which often results from intuitions and beliefs than from actual and confirmed difficulties.