Age-Differentiated Communication in Organizations: Perspectives from Thailand and the United States

To test hypotheses about intra- and intergenerational communication perceptions, university students with work experience (n = 277) from two nations (Thailand and the United States) self-assessed their communication beliefs on the Global Perceptions of Intergenerational Communication scale. Using communication accommodation theory as a theoretical backdrop, results revealed that, irrespective of culture, young workers perceived older workers as more nonaccommodative (e.g., more negative, more self-centered) than young workers, though young workers still felt more obligation to be polite and “respectfully avoidant” in their communication to older workers. Cross-cultural differences emerged only to the extent that young Americans reported receiving greater accommodation from workers, in general, than did Thais.