Age diversity in the workplace: a systematic literature review of multigenerational performance

Abstract

Age diversity has become a central issue in contemporary human resource management because organizations increasingly employ workers from different life stages, career stages and generational cohorts at the same time. However, existing research does not present a simple positive or negative conclusion about age diversity. Some studies associate age-diverse workplaces with stronger knowledge resources, innovation and productivity, while others report coordination difficulties, stereotypes and lower cohesion when age differences are poorly managed. This article therefore uses a systematic literature review (SLR) to synthesize recent evidence published from 2020 to 2026 on the relationship between workplace age diversity and organizational outcomes. The SLR is appropriate because the purpose of the article is not to test a new statistical relationship with primary data, but to map existing studies, compare their findings and identify the conditions under which age diversity supports or weakens performance. Following PRISMA 2020 logic, 486 records were identified, 383 were screened and 28 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. The review answers two research questions: first, how recent literature on age diversity is distributed across methods, contexts and themes; and second, how age diversity affects organizational outcomes through mediating and moderating factors. The findings show that age diversity contributes positively when organizations create age-inclusive HR practices, psychological safety, structured mentoring and bidirectional knowledge transfer. Negative outcomes are more likely when age stereotypes, weak leadership and poor communication make age differences socially salient. The article contributes by integrating mixed findings into a contingency-based framework and by offering practical recommendations for managers of multigenerational teams.