Management of work environment tailored to the diverse expectations of a multigenerational team

Medical Review (Med. pregled), 2024, 60(4), 50-57.

E. Petrova-Geretto, E. Naseva

FOZ „Prof. Dr. Tsekomir Vodenicharov, PhD“, MU – Sofia

Abstract. The key factor that distinguishes successful and effective organizations from others is their competent and skillful workforce. This is the reason why the greatest chal-lenge for 21st-century management is people management, which is not simply the allocation, distribution, and supervision but rather the management of critical capital. Aim: To study the opportunities to provide work environment tailored to the specific needs and expectations of a competent multigenerational team. Materials and methodology: A total of 611 employees at University Hospital – Burgas were surveyed. The largest proportion were healthcare professionals (nurses, midwives, lab technicians) (37.3%), followed by other types of employees (36.3%), and physicians (14.2%). There were 27 questions covering the areas of: psycho-social environment and factors leading to work-related stress, interaction between team members – level of communication and cooperation, teamwork, mutual care and support, team spirit, and the challenge of managing a multigenerational team. Results: The results provide significant understanding of management of human capital tailored to diverse generations and employees’ categories. There was a statistically significant difference between doctors and healthcare professionals regarding workload, work organization, job insecurity, working conditions, and work environment. Respondents diverge on the question whether the needs arising from the team members age are considered in the work process. All respondents gave significantly positive responses regarding communication, the use of new technologies, mutual assistance, and assistance to new hires. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that besides age, the attitude of employees’ categories towards work environment and process matters as well. Effective management of generational differences and work environment determines whether the generational diversity at the workplace will be a threat or an opportunity for organizations.

Key words: human capital management, multigenerational team, work environment, employ-ee categories

Address for correspondence: Elisaveta Petrova-Geretto PhD, e-mail: elisavetageretto@gmail.com