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Positive Coping Skills, Thriving and Social Connectedness: Are There Generational Differences in the Digital Workplace?

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Agile Coping in the Digital Workplace

Abstract

The business environment has become very volatile. Organisations today are searching for employees with the ability to use modern technology. Individuals must evolve, thrive and cope in order to survive in the digital era. The digital era further influences the skills employers search for as well as their ability to cope, thrive and socially connect within the workplace. There often seem to be differences in coping and thriving abilities as well individuals’ social connectedness who are from different age or generational groups. Organisations need to address these differences by empowering employees to develop these abilities, in order to cope with the smart technological world of work. Hence, the investigation of age and generational differences in terms of individuals’ positive coping skills, thriving and social connectedness. Tests for significant differences and ANOVAs were conducted on a random sample of (N = 606) professionals and employees in South Africa. Based on the differences found between individuals’ positive coping skills, thriving and social connectedness, human resource practitioners and industrial psychologists should utilise interventions and strategies to promote positive coping and thriving behaviours in order to assist individuals from different age and generation groups to cope with the smart technological world of work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Resource Management, University of South Africa, Gauteng, South Africa

    Nadia Ferreira

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  1. Nadia Ferreira
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Correspondence to Nadia Ferreira .

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  1. Department of Human Resource Management, University of South Africa, Gauteng, South Africa

    Nadia Ferreira  & Ingrid L. Potgieter  & 

  2. Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, University of South Africa, Gauteng, South Africa

    Melinde Coetzee

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Ferreira, N. (2021). Positive Coping Skills, Thriving and Social Connectedness: Are There Generational Differences in the Digital Workplace?. In: Ferreira, N., Potgieter, I.L., Coetzee, M. (eds) Agile Coping in the Digital Workplace. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70228-1_5

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