Abstract

Due to recent demographic changes, employees from diverse generations now work together in organizations. Thus, there is a need for research on intergenerational cooperation. However, the lack of valid and reliable measures to capture intergenerational climate in the workplace is an obstacle to research. Therefore, we translated the Workplace Intergenerational Climate Scale(WICS) into Korean and validated it with a sample of 1,052 Korean full-time employees. Firstly, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis by using sample 1(N = 460) and revealed a five-factor solution. Secondly, the confirmatory factor analysis(sample 2; N = 592) showed a good model fit of the correlated five-factor model. Thirdly, the scale’s discriminant and convergent validity was supported by negative correlations with four types of existing ageism scales and by positive correlations with trust, organizational commitment, work engagement, psychological safety, intention to remain, job satisfaction, and communication satisfaction. Moreover, it further demonstrated significant incremental validity in predicting positive outcome variables even when controlling for pre-existing agism scales. Lastly, we confirmed strict measurement invariance of the scale between the age groups(below 40 versus above 40). The findings support the reliability and validity of the Korean version of WICS among Korean employees. The scale will be broadly applied to measure intergenerational climate of organizations and provide practical implications for HR management.