Paper Accepted: Baby Boomers and the Lost Generation: On the discursive construction of generations at work’

We are delighted to say that our paper “Baby Boomers and the Lost Generation: On the discursive construction of generations at work’” has been accepted for a Special Issue of Organization Studies: ‘At a Critical Age: The Social and Political Organization of Age and Ageing’.   We are not yet sure of the timing for publication but the abstract is provided below and we will update you as and when we have further news.

ABSTRACT:

Pritchard, K and Whiting, R (2014) ‘Baby Boomers and the Lost Generation: On the discursive construction of generations at work’ ( accepted for Organization Studies SI ‘At a Critical Age: The Social and Political Organization of Age and Ageing’).

Generations, and generational categories, offer a means of organising our understandings of age and age-related issues.  Particularly within practitioner-orientated debates, differences between generations are highlighted as creating tensions which organisations must address.  In contrast, we offer a critical interrogation of generations and unpack the implications of particular constructions.  Specifically we examine the discursive construction of generational issues in UK online news about age at work, focusing on baby boomers and the lost generation.  We highlight the discursive work involved in constructing each generation as entitled to work and how responsibility for employment issues is variously positioned.  These inter-related concerns develop into a debate about consequences, as different versions of the future are constructed.  In contrast to essentialised understandings, our study shows how generations and generational categories are constructed and organise understandings of age at work.  We further highlight how the constructions of generational differences and tensions become enrolled and legitimate age-related differences with regard to work.  Such insights are essential to further our understandings of age-related issues in contemporary organising.