Bridging Generational Gaps: Motivating a multi-generational workforce in the UK hospitality industry

Abstract

This thesis examines current research into motivating a multi-generational workforce, highlighting the commonalities and differences. After this analysis the key finding's will be reviewed consider-ing theories of human motivation. A survey will then be conducted to see if there are any new ideas and themes in 2024 finally. Finally with the completed literature review and the survey re-sults the writer will suggest strategies for motivating a multi-generational workforce in the hospi-tality industry to serve as an addition to existing research, to improve staff retention, staff satisfac-tion and staff motivation and productivity. The generational landscape of hospitality is as varied as the industry itself the breakdown of the workforce in 2023 was as follows traditionalists (born 1925 -1945) Less than 1% of the workforce, Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964) 22%, Generation X (born 1965-1980) 35% Millennials (born 1981- 2000) 35% and Generation Z (born 2001-2020) 7%. For the first time in the modern era, the workforce includes 5 different generations with differ-ent needs values and ways in which they're motivated. For this thesis the writer will focus on 4 generations that make up the most of the UK workforce as shown above. The reason for conduct-ing this research is to understand the current dynamics of the multi-generational workforce within the hospitality industry, get different perspectives on how different generations work together and what each field could be done better. A qualitative survey was created using Jotform and distrib-uted via Facebook survey swap groups. With only 10 survey respondents this research has not yet yielded enough data to offer conclusive results regarding the multi-generational workforce within hospitality, it does offer important insights into the thoughts and experiences of participants and would be a good starting point for further research. It has raised a discussion around various points the author believes that further research could be valuable to the industry and the motivation of current and any future employees.