Rewarding Seniority: Exploring Cultural and Organizational Predictors of Seniority Allocations

The author investigated how organizations in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, and Germany use seniority in their decisions about rewarding employees. The author asked employees from several organizations to indicate how often their organizations use seniority when making decisions about pay raises, promotions, and dismissals. Results indicated that organizations with egalitarian cultures, economically successful organizations, and public-sector organizations use seniority more often in such decisions. Furthermore, uncertainty avoidance predicted greater use of seniority. The findings are discussed in light of the potential of seniority to maintain and control conflict inherent in open systems and the aging workforce in Western societies.