A manager's age in relation to his or her employees is linked to company performance, according to a study published by the Journal of Organizational Society and featured in The Washington Post.
After surveying roughly 8,000 employees at more than 60 German companies, researchers found negative emotions were 12 percent higher at companies with bosses younger than their employees, according to The Washington Post'sreview of the study. And, those companies with higher reported levels of negative emotions also performed worse financially and operationally.
Most businesses agree young managers are a boon to organizations — they can bring fresh ideas, energy and change — but their presence can make older employees feel uneasy or negative.
But it's not time to do away with merit-based promotion structures just yet, according to the study's authors. Companies where older employees kept their negative emotions about younger managers to themselves had stable performance, according to The Washington Post. While this may not be the best solution, young managers can take steps to mitigate these negative feelings, such as giving older employees more independence, according to the report.
Read the full story here.
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