Examining positive and negative perceptions of older workers: a meta-analysis

Intertwined -isms: an exploration of relationships between ageism and sexism in workplace and non-work contexts

This study aimed to examine the association of workplace-based ageism with (a) ageism in non-work contexts and (b) workplace-based sexism. Data came from an online survey of workers in South Korea, with a sample stratified by gender and age group (N = 600; mean age = 43.6  years, range 20-74). Workplace-based ageism was measured using the Workplace Intergenerational Climate Scale (WICS). Other measures included the Fraboni Ageism Scale (FAS) and the Workplace Sexism Culture Scale (WSCS). A series of logistic regression models for endorsing the most workplace ageism (i.e., scoring in WICS bottom quartile) were estimated. Results showed that with each unit increase in FAS scores, the probability of belonging to the WICS bottom quartile increased by 7% while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics [odds ratio (OR) = 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04-1.10, p < 0.01]. Likewise, when WSCS scores increased by one unit, the probability of belonging to the WICS bottom quartile increased by 8% while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04-1.12, p < 0.01). Findings suggest that ageism and sexism may be intertwined across workplace and non-work contexts.

Age and Workplace Ageism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The increase of older workers has resulted in more diversified demographics with a wide spectrum of employees' ages. This change calls for a better understanding of intergenerational conflict, in particular ageism. This study aimed to synthesize study findings on workplace ageism by examining the relationship between ageist attitudes and chronological age. A systematic literature review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA; then, 15 studies were included. The results of an intercept-only meta-regression model, using robust variance estimation with a random-effects approach, showed that an increase in workers' age had a significant negative association with the severity of their workplace-based ageist attitudes: b = -.159   (95% CI: -.21, -.11). Thus, the younger the workers, the more severe their ageist attitudes toward others in different age groups in the workplace. The findings offer implications for occupational social work practice in terms of priority in anti-ageism education and training among different age groups.

Older Workers with Unpredictable Schedules: Implications for Well-being and Job Retention

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

A substantial portion of the service sector workforce is middle aged or older, but little is known about the scheduling conditions of these older workers. This study describes the quality of work schedules in the service sector by age and tests associations of unpredictable schedules with well-being and job retention among workers ages 50-80.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

The Shift Project collected survey data on detailed working conditions and health from 121,408 service sector workers, recruited in 2017-2020 using social media advertisements. Survey weights aligned sample demographics with the American Community Survey, and multiple imputation addressed missingness. Ordinary least squares regression models were used to examine associations between age and schedule stability, and ordinary least squares, ordinal logit, and logit regression models tested associations between schedule stability and well-being and job retention outcomes for older workers.

RESULTS

Scheduling conditions were more stable and predictable for older compared to younger workers; however, more than 80% of workers ages 50-80 experienced one or more types of routine schedule instability. Among workers ages 50-80, unpredictable schedules were associated with psychological distress, poor quality sleep, work-family conflict, economic insecurity, job dissatisfaction, and intentions to look for a new job. Canceled and back-to-back closing and opening ("clopening") shifts were most strongly associated with negative outcomes.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Policies aimed at improving scheduling conditions hold promise to benefit older service workers' well-being. As the population ages, improving work schedules in the years approaching retirement may be important to longer working lives.

Transcultural Validation of the Nordic Age Discrimination Scale for the Spanish-Speaking Working Populations

Negative stereotypes about older workers can result in different types of age discrimination. The aim of this study was to run a transcultural adaptation and validation of the Nordic Age Discrimination Scale (NADS) into Spanish. Three independent samples of Chilean (N = 301), Colombian (N = 150), and Spanish (N = 209) workers over the age of 45, from different sectors and professional categories, answered a questionnaire including the NADS scale, measures of perceptions of inequality, workplace harassment and several scales related to outcome variables to test criterion and construct validity. The reliability index for the NADS was .85, a similar value for both Cronbach's alpha (α) and McDonald's omega (ω). CFA by country suggest good fit of this single-dimension structure in a final version of 5 items, and it presents scalar invariance; using the modification indices, partial invariance is achieved at the level of the variance of the errors. Both criterion and construct validity were verified, with strong evidence for criterion validity, and moderate results for construct validity. Therefore, the Spanish version of NADS had a single-dimension structure and adequate psychometric properties being a useful tool in measuring perceptions of age discrimination in different countries.

What Can Motivate Me to Keep Working? Analysis of Older Finance Professionals’ Discourse Using Self-Determination Theory

The twin issues of population aging and critical talent shortages induce employers to encourage older workers to prolong their professional lives. Over the past two decades, studies have mainly examined which human resources practices influence older workers’ ability, motivation, and opportunity to continue working. Our conceptual lens rest on self-determination theory (SDT). This study explores how older professionals in the financial services sector may see how three psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) are satisfied or frustrated through various management practices such as monetary rewards, benefits, career development, and work content and context. Our interviews with older finance professionals also show the relevance of a fourth need, beneficence, to understand their decision to continue to work. Results of this study are likely to be significant at both managerial and societal levels in the perspective of sustainable development or employability.

Exploring the Black Box of Managing Total Rewards for Older Professionals in the Canadian Financial Services Sector

This study extends our knowledge about the management of older employees in the sector of financial services, which faces enormous transformational pressures (e.g., emergence of artificial intelligence, digital services). Based on the black box model of human resource management, we investigate how executives at 16 major financial institutions manage their total rewards to motivate their older professionals to stay at work longer. Top management’s views towards older professionals underlie a firm’s culture or climate, and more precisely, the extent of the perception that they are a strategic resource that needs focused management. Across firms, such adaptation (or lack thereof) is made through the following total rewards components: (1) flexibility in working time and place of work, (2) hiring of retirees, (3) hiring or promotion of older professionals, (4) role adjustment, (5) responsibilities and performance standards, (6) monetary rewards, benefits, and (7) recognition, succession planning, and support for retirement planning or preparation. The black box model should be used in future research to understand which reward components work best in which contextsto motivate older workers to stay at work longer.

Doing age in the workplace: Exploring age categorisation in performance appraisal

Ageism in the manager-employee relationship is one of the main obstacles towards an age-inclusive workplace. Ageism in the labour market is rooted in the use of age as an organising principle of employment relations. This article contributes to the study of ageism in the workplace by investigating how stages of life, as normalised age categories, are mobilised through discursive practices in performance appraisals. Based on the analysis of video recordings of actual performance appraisal interviews at an Italian labour union, three discursive ways of 'doing age' - or of how age, as a constructed social category, is performed and enacted - were identified: quantification (e.g. number of years in the organisation), 'ageing within the organisation' and age-group membership identification (e.g. 'young' vs. 'old'). The analysis suggests that stages of life categories and age attributes are 'done' in social interactions and employed by both employees and managers as shared culture to sustain ongoing organisational activities, thereby reproducing discriminatory age norms and stereotypes. The study demonstrates how the ordering power of the stages of life categories is situated in organisational culture and challenges the implementation of equal and inclusive workplace policies.

Age Discrimination in the Context of Motivation and Healthy Aging

Age discrimination can undermine older people's motivation to stay engaged with their lives and poses a major challenge to healthy aging. In this article, we review research on age discrimination in different life domains, including health and work. Motivation and health constitute potential antecedents as well as outcomes of age discrimination, with reduced motivation and impaired health increasing the likelihood of becoming a victim of age discrimination, but also resulting from age discrimination. Furthermore, high levels of motivation and health can also serve as buffers against the negative effects of age discrimination. Based on our literature review, we discuss possible strategies aimed at reducing age discrimination. Understanding and combating age discrimination can foster older people's motivation to participate in meaningful activities and promote healthy aging.

Older and Younger Job Seekers' Impression Management on LinkedIn

Abstract. The use of social networking sites such as LinkedIn in recruitment is ubiquitous. This practice may hold risks for older job seekers. Not having grown up using the internet and having learned how to use social media only in middle adulthood may render them less versed in online self-presentation than younger job seekers. Results of this research show some differences and many similarities between younger and older job seekers' impression management on their LinkedIn profiles. Nevertheless, independent of their impression management efforts, older job seekers received fewer job offers than younger job seekers. Only using a profile photo with a younger appearance reduced this bias. Implications for the role of job seeker age in online impression management and recruitment are discussed.

You’re Not Old as Long as You’re Learning: Ageism, Burnout, and Development Among Italian Teachers

The purpose of this study was to explore the buffering role of opportunities for professional development within the frame of the indirect relationship between workplace age discrimination (as a job demand) and job performance on a sample of N = 325 Italian teachers. Results of moderated mediation analysis indicated that emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between workplace age discrimination and impaired job performance. Furthermore, the relationship between workplace age discrimination and performance through the mediation of emotional exhaustion became stronger at lower levels of professional development. Although professional development is recognized as a crucial job resource, this study sheds light on its protective role among teachers dealing with discrimination caused by their age. Fostering of professional development could prevent teachers from feeling emotionally exhausted and, in turn, from the occurrence of impaired performance.

Conceptualizing Age-Friendliness in Workplaces: Proposing a New Multidimensional Model

Creating age-friendly workplace environments is considered a central organizational approach for addressing the challenges of supporting an aging and older workforce. However, there are no concrete definitions or theoretical frameworks that explain the full meaning, assumptions, and basic processes of this concept. This article critically reviews the conceptualizations of the age-friendly workplace in the fields of organizational psychology and gerontology, and proposes (a) a new working definition of the concept, and (b) a multidimensional model that consists of a typology of age-friendly dimensions, representing the implications of human resource policies and practices that demonstrate the ways in which organizational climate and organizational culture support aging workers. This framework enables a better understanding of the organizational-occupational realities within an aging and older labor market, and thus serves as an effective foundation upon which future organizational measurements can be constructed.

Measuring Age Discrimination at Work: Spanish Adaptation and Preliminary Validation of the Nordic Age Discrimination Scale (NADS)

Negative stereotypes about older workers can result in ageism and age discrimination in the workplace. The aim of this study is to carry out an adaptation to Spanish and a preliminary validation of the Nordic Age Discrimination Scale (NADS) in a sample of Spanish workers over 55 years of age. The study involved 209 employees aged between 55 and 67 years old (155 women (74.2%) and 54 men (25.8%)) working in the health sector with different professional categories (nurses, doctors, nursing assistants, ancillaries and health technicians). The reliability index of the six dimensions of the NADS (promotion, training, development, development appraisals, wage increase and change processes) measured by Cronbach's alpha was α = 0.83. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, with the goodness-of-fit indexes used, reflect an acceptable adjustment of the single-factor structure of the NADS. Regarding criterion and construct validity, the NADS correlated positively and negatively with the respective variables in the expected directions, except in one case. These results indicate that the Spanish version of the NADS shows adequate levels of internal consistency and criterion validity, and this instrument meets standard psychometric properties in its Spanish version.

Age and Perceived Employability as Moderators of Job Insecurity and Job Satisfaction: A Moderated Moderation Model

Workforce ageing and the need to work longer implies several challenges worldwide. Due to the potential for career prolongation, one such implication is to understand how age and perceived employability buffers relationship effects between job insecurity and job satisfaction. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the moderating roles of perceived employability and age on the relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction. Hypotheses were tested using a three-way interaction model based on a cross-sectional design with a representative sample of 1,116 Chilean workers. Results show that age plays an important role in employees with high perceived employability; however, it has no effect on employees with low perceived employability. Younger workers with high perceived employability suffer less than do older employees with high perceived employability in terms of intrinsic job satisfaction. From a theoretical point of view, perceived employability in older workers does not reduce the unfavorable consequences of job insecurity. Regarding practical implications, organizations should manage and develop older workers by focusing on intrinsic aspects of their careers and on retirement preparation, as this will improve control and other positive resources in this population.

Biased media? How news content influences age discrimination claims

Information distributed via the news media is acknowledged as a potential source of negative beliefs about, and biased behaviors toward, older workers. Focusing on the Netherlands, the current study explains age discrimination claims filed by older workers by investigating the impact of visibility and media stereotypes of older workers in the news media, while controlling for real-world events and older workers’ expectations of unemployment (2004–2014). The results, based on time-series analysis, reveal that the visibility of older workers in the news media is associated with higher levels of age discrimination claims. This effect can be partly explained with the visibility of the negative media stereotype that older workers experience health problems in the content of news coverage. Furthermore, unemployment expectations decreased the number of age discrimination claims. These results offer support for the notion that the news environment is a source of variation in the experience of age discrimination at the workplace.

Age Differences in Work Stress, Exhaustion, Well-Being, and Related Factors From an Ecological Perspective

The aim of this study was to examine the association of work stress, exhaustion, well-being, and related individual, organizational, and social factors, focusing especially on age differences in Taiwan. The data were from the 2015 Taiwan Social Change Survey. The participants were community-based adults, aged 18 years or older, selected via stratified multistage proportional probability sampling from the Taiwanese population. Well-being was measured by self-rated health and psychological health. Descriptive analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis were used. Work stresses were related to three types of exhaustion, and exhaustion was related to well-being. Individual working style (being creative and using new methods), organizational factors (job satisfaction, work-family conflict, discrimination against women), and social factors (difficult finding a good job than older cohorts) were related to well-being. Older age was related to worse self-rated health, and age showed a reverse-U-shaped relation with psychological health. The resilience of older workers could be an opportunity for the global active aging trend, and interventions to support older workers in organizations would be beneficial.

Ageism and the Older Worker: A Scoping Review

Purpose of the Study

Given the policy shifts toward extended work lives, it is critically important to address barriers that older workers may face in attaining and maintaining satisfactory work. This article presents a scoping review of research addressing ageism and its implications for the employment experiences and opportunities of older workers.

Design and Methods

The five-step scoping review process outlined by Arksey and O'Malley was followed. The data set included 43 research articles.

Results

The majority of articles were cross-sectional quantitative surveys, and various types of study participants (older workers, human resource personnel/manager, employers, younger workers, undergraduate students) were included. Four main themes, representing key research emphases, were identified: stereotypes and perceptions of older workers; intended behavior toward older workers; reported behavior toward older workers; and older workers' negotiation of ageism.

Implications

Existing research provides a foundational evidence base for the existence of ageist stereotypes and perceptions about older workers and has begun to demonstrate implications in relation to intended behaviors and, to a lesser extent, actual behaviors toward older workers. A few studies have explored how aging workers attempt to negotiate ageism. Further research that extends beyond cross-sectional surveys is required to achieve more complex understandings of the implications of ageism and inform policies and practices that work against ageism.

Experiences of ageism and the mental health of older adults

OBJECTIVES

This article examines relationships between experiences of ageism and four specific mental health outcomes among older Australian adults, including whether these relationships vary depending on age, gender, and sexual orientation.

METHODS

A survey was conducted nationwide involving 2137 participants aged 60 years and older. Mental health variables included depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, general stress, and positive mental health or flourishing.

RESULTS

Recent experiences of ageism were found to be strongly related to poorer mental health on all four mental health variables. However, experiences of ageism appeared to have a greater effect on the mental health of those who were younger in age (specifically depression), of men more so than women (specifically depression), and of those who identified as heterosexual as opposed to other sexual orientations (specifically general stress).

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that experiences of ageism may be an important factor in the health and well-being of older adults, especially for those who are younger, male, and heterosexual, and may need to be taken into account when devising strategies for supporting healthier and happier ageing.

Are There Differences in Workplace Accommodation Needs, Use and Unmet Needs Among Older Workers With Arthritis, Diabetes and No Chronic Conditions? Examining the Role of Health and Work Context

The aging of workforces combined with the prevalence of age-related chronic diseases has generated interest in whether large numbers of older workers will need workplace accommodations. This research applied work functioning theory to examine accommodation availability, need and use in workers with arthritis, diabetes, or no chronic disabling diseases; factors associated with accommodation needs; and the relationship of accommodation needs met, unmet or exceeded to job outcomes. Participants were aged 50-67 years, employed, and had arthritis (n = 631), diabetes (n = 286), both arthritis/diabetes (n = 111) or no chronic disabling conditions (healthy controls n = 538). They were recruited from a national panel of 80,000 individuals and a cross-sectional survey was administered online or by telephone. Questionnaires assessed demographics, health, work context, workplace accommodations, and job outcomes. Chi-square analyses, analyses of variance, and regression analyses compared groups. Respondents were similar in many demographic and work context factors. As expected, workers with arthritis and/or diabetes often reported poorer health and employment outcomes. Yet, there were few differences across health conditions in need for or use of accommodations with most participants reporting accommodations needs met. In keeping with work functioning theory, unmet accommodation needs were largely related to work context, not health. Workers whose accommodation needs were exceeded reported better job outcomes than those with accommodation needs met. Findings highlight both work context and health in understanding workplace accommodations and suggest that many older workers can meet accommodation needs with existing workplace practices. However, additional research aimed at workplace support and the timing of accommodation use is needed.

European Top Managers' Age-Related Workplace Norms and Their Organizations' Recruitment and Retention Practices Regarding Older Workers

Purpose

Top managers guide organizational strategy and practices, but their role in the employment of older workers is understudied. We study the effects that age-related workplace norms of top managers have on organizations' recruitment and retention practices regarding older workers. We investigate two types of age-related workplace norms, namely age equality norms (whether younger and older workers should be treated equally) and retirement age norms (when older workers are expected to retire) while controlling for organizational and national contexts.

Data and methods

Data collected among top managers of 1,088 organizations from six European countries were used for the study. Logistic regression models were run to estimate the effects of age-related workplace norms on four different organizational outcomes: (a) recruiting older workers, (b) encouraging working until normal retirement age, (c) encouraging working beyond normal retirement age, and (d) rehiring retired former employees.

Results

Age-related workplace norms of top managers affect their organizations' practices, but in different ways. Age equality norms positively affect practices before the boundary of normal retirement age (Outcomes a and b), whereas retirement age norms positively affect practices after the boundary of normal retirement age (Outcomes c and d).

Implications

Changing age-related workplace norms of important actors in organizations may be conducive to better employment opportunities and a higher level of employment participation of older workers. However, care should be taken to target the right types of norms, since targeting different norms may yield different outcomes.

Protecting older workers’ employability: A survey study of the role of transformational leadership

Demographic and labour market changes increase the need to enhance the employability of employees across all ages. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of transformational leadership in employees’ employability. While we hypothesised that age is negatively related to perceived internal and external employability, we expected a positive relationship for transformational leadership, and that transformational leadership would moderate the relationship between age and employability. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 1006 employees in the German automotive industry. Results show age to be negatively related to internal and external employability, with both relationships being comparably strong. Transformational leadership was positively related to internal and external employability, with the relationship with internal employability being stronger. Moreover, transformational leadership buffered the negative relationship between age and internal employability. These results suggest that transformational leadership is crucial in protecting lifetime employability and that it should be promoted.

Age Bias in Selection Decisions: The Role of Facial Appearance and Fitness Impressions

This research examined the impact of facial age appearance on hiring, and impressions of fitness as the underlying mechanism. In two experimental hiring simulations, one with lay persons and one with Human Resource professionals, participants evaluated a chronologically older or younger candidate (as indicated by date of birth and age label) with either younger or older facial age appearance (as indicated by a photograph). In both studies, older-looking candidates received lower hireability ratings, due to less favorable fitness impressions. In addition, Study 1 showed that this age bias was reduced when the candidates provided counter-stereotypic information about their fitness. Study 2 showed that facial age-based discrimination is less prevalent in jobs with less costumer contact (e.g., back office).

Experiences of Discrimination Are Associated With Greater Resting Amygdala Activity and Functional Connectivity

BACKGROUND

Social discrimination, a type of psychological stressor, is associated with poorer physical and mental health outcomes, yet we have little understanding of how discrimination affects neural functions in marginalized populations. By contrast, the effects of psychological stress on neural functions are well documented, with evidence of significant effects on the amygdala-a neural region that is central to psychosocial functions. Accordingly, we conducted an examination of the relation between self-reported discrimination exposure and amygdala activity in a diverse sample of adults.

METHODS

Seventy-four adults (43% women; 72% African American; 23% Hispanic; 32% homosexual/bisexual) completed self-report ratings of discrimination exposure. Spontaneous amygdala activity and functional connectivity were assessed during resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.

RESULTS

Greater discrimination exposure was associated with higher levels of spontaneous amygdala activity. Increases in discrimination were also associated with stronger functional connectivity between the amygdala and several neural regions (e.g., anterior insula, putamen, caudate, anterior cingulate, medial frontal gyrus), with the most robust effects observed in the thalamus. These effects were independent of several demographic (e.g., race, ethnicity, sex) and psychological (e.g., current stress, depression, anxiety) factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Collectively, our findings provide the first evidence that social discrimination is independently associated with elevations in intrinsic amygdala activity and functional connectivity, thus revealing clear parallels between the neural substrates of discrimination and psychological stressors of other origins. Such results should spur future investigations of amygdala-based networks as potential etiological factors linking discrimination exposure to adverse physical and mental health outcomes.

Keep Up the Good Work! Age-Moderated Mediation Model on Intention to Retire

In European nations, the aging of the workforce is a major issue which is increasingly addressed both in national and organizational policies in order to sustain older workers' employability and to encourage longer working lives. Particularly older workers' employability can be viewed an important issue as this has the potential to motivate them for their work and change their intention to retire. Based on lifespan development theories and Van der Heijden's 'employability enhancement model', this paper develops and tests an age-moderated mediation model (which refers to the processes that we want to test in this model), linking older workers' (55 years old and over) perceptions of job support for learning (job-related factor) and perceptions of negative age stereotypes on productivity (organizational factor), on the one hand, and their intention to retire, on the other hand, via their participation in employability enhancing activities, being the mediator in our model. A total of 2,082 workers aged 55 years and above were included in the analyses. Results revealed that the two proposed relationships between the predictors and intention to retire were mediated by participation in employability enhancing activities, reflecting two mechanisms through which work context affects intention to retire (namely 'a gain spiral and a loss spiral'). Multi-Group SEM analyses, distinguishing between two age groups (55-60 and 61-65 years old), revealed different paths for the two distinguished groups of older workers. Employability mediated the relationship between perceptions of job support for learning and intention to retire in both age groups, whereas it only mediated the relationship between perceptions of negative age stereotypes and intention to retire in the 55-60 group. From our empirical study, we may conclude that employability is an important factor in the light of older workers' intention to retire. In order to motivate this category of workers to participate in employability enhancing activities and to work longer, negative age stereotypes need to be combated. In addition, creating job support for learning over the lifespan is also an important HR practice to be implemented in nowadays' working life.

Is There a Downside of Job Accommodations? An Employee Perspective on Individual Change Processes

By modifying the work environments, work routines, and work tasks of employees with health restrictions, organizations can effectively help them continue to perform their jobs successfully. As such, job accommodations are an effective tool to secure the continued employment of aging workers who develop disabilities across their life span. However, while accommodations tackle health-related performance problems, they might create new challenges on the part of the affected employee. Building on the organizational change and accommodations literatures, we propose a theoretical framework of negative experiences during accommodation processes and apply it to qualitative data from group interviews with 73 manufacturing workers at a German industrial company who were part of the company's job accommodation program. Although problems associated with health-related impairments were mostly solved by accommodation, affected employees with disabilities reported about interpersonal problems and conflicts similar to those that typically occur during organizational change. Lack of social support as well as poor communication and information were raised as criticisms. Furthermore, our findings indicate that discrimination, bullying, and maltreatment appear to be common during accommodation processes. To make accommodation processes more successful, we derive recommendations from the organizational change literature and apply it to the accommodation context. We also emphasize unique characteristics of the accommodation setting and translate these into practical implications.

Age Bias in the Workplace: Cultural Stereotypes and In-Group Favoritism

Two key theoretical frameworks that explain why people might hold biases for or against a specific age group-cultural stereotypes and in-group favoritism-yield distinct and sometimes contradictory predictions. This study proposes a combined framework drawing on these two theories and then tests hypotheses based on this framework in the workplace context. Using survey data from U.S. employees of two pharmaceutical companies, we evaluated the extent to which respondents attributed characteristics related to innovation or change and reliable performance to other workers based on perceived relative age (the age of the target relative to the age of the respondent). The hypotheses that our combined framework generated were supported, but the results varied by type of characteristic as well as by age of the respondent. We conclude that the combined framework is more predictive of age bias in the workplace than either individual framework alone.

Implicit Age Cues in Resumes: Subtle Effects on Hiring Discrimination

Anonymous resume screening, as assumed, does not dissuade age discriminatory effects. Building on job market signaling theory, this study investigated whether older applicants may benefit from concealing explicitly mentioned age signals on their resumes (date of birth) or whether more implicit/subtle age cues on resumes (older-sounding names/old-fashioned extracurricular activities) may lower older applicants’ hirability ratings. An experimental study among 610 HR professionals using a mixed factorial design showed hiring discrimination of older applicants based on implicit age cues in resumes. This effect was more pronounced for older raters. Concealing one’s date of birth led to overall lower ratings. Study findings add to the limited knowledge on the effects of implicit age cues on hiring discrimination in resume screening and the usefulness of anonymous resume screening in the context of age. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Impression Management in the Job Interview: An Effective Way of Mitigating Discrimination against Older Applicants?

The increasingly aging population in most industrialized societies, coupled with the rather age-diverse current workforce makes discrimination against older employees a prevalent issue, especially in employment contexts. This renders research on ways for reducing this type of discrimination a particularly pressing concern. Drawing on theories of social identity and impression management, our research examines the role of impression management, aimed at refuting common older worker stereotypes, in diminishing bias against older job applicants during the job interview. The study consisted in an experimental hiring simulation conducted on a sample of 515 undergraduate students. Results show that older applicants who used impression management to contradict common older worker stereotypes were perceived as more hirable than those who did not. However, despite this positive effect, discrimination persisted: older applicants were consistently rated as less hirable than their younger counterparts when displaying the same IM behavior. Taken together, this research demonstrates that older job seekers can indeed ameliorate biased interview outcomes by engaging in impression management targeting common age stereotypes; however, it also shows that this strategy is insufficient for overcoming age discrimination entirely. The current study has important implications for theory, by expanding research on the use of impression management in mitigating age discrimination, as well as for practice, by offering older employees a hands-on strategy to reduce bias and stereotyping against them.

Hard and soft age discrimination: the dual nature of workplace discrimination

The paper concentrates on the problem of age discrimination in the labour market and the way it can be conceptualised and measured in a multi-disciplinary way. The approach proposed here combines two understandings of age discrimination-a sociological and legal one, what allows for a fuller and expanded understanding of ageism in the workplace. At the heart of the study is a survey carried out in Poland with a sample of 1000 men and women aged 45-65 years. The study takes a deeper and innovative look into the issue of age discrimination in employment. Confirmatory factor analysis with WLSMV estimation and logistic regressions were used to test the hypotheses. The study shows that age discrimination in labour market can take on different forms: hard and soft, where the hard type of age discrimination mirrors the legally prohibited types of behaviours and those which relate to the actual decisions of employers which can impact on the employee's career development. The soft discrimination corresponds with those occurrences, which are not inscribed in the legal system per se, are occurring predominantly in the interpersonal sphere, but can nevertheless have negative consequences. Soft discrimination was experienced more often (28.6% of respondents) than hard discrimination (15.7%) with higher occurrences among women, persons in precarious job situation or residents of urban areas. The role of education was not confirmed to influence the levels of perceived age discrimination.

Managers’ interview invitation decisions about older job applicants: human capital, economic conditions and job demands

Older job applicants are vulnerable to stereotype-related bias in the recruitment process. In the current study, we examined how managers’ job interview invitation decisions regarding older job applicants are influenced by applicants’ human capital-related characteristics, general economic conditions and managers’ perceptions of changes in organisational job demands. Data were collected in two waves of a vignette experiment, three years apart, among a sample of 211 Dutch managers from various organisations. Multi-level analysis showed that managers were more likely to invite older job applicants who had matching qualifications, were employed at the time of application and came with recommendations. In addition, managers’ propensity to invite older job applicants was higher in better economic conditions. The effects of recommendations were moderated by the general economic conditions and changes in organisational job demands, such that a recommendation from another employer was especially influential in bad economic conditions, while a recommendation from an internal employee was especially influential when job demands had increased. The results emphasise the importance of considering the organisational and economic context in understanding the recruitment of older workers. The findings also suggest that older workers, employers and policy makers should invest in older workers’ human capital to protect their employability.

Reliable and unproductive? Stereotypes of older employees in corporate and news media

Older employees face a severe employability problem, partly because of dominant stereotypes about them. This study investigates stereotypes of older employees in corporate and news media. Drawing on the Stereotype Content Model, we content analysed newspaper coverage and corporate media of 50 large-scale Dutch organisations, published between 2006 and 2013. The data revealed that stereotypical portrayals of older employees are more common in news media than in corporate media and mixed in terms of valence. Specifically, older employees were positively portrayed with regard to warmth stereotypes, such as trustworthiness, but negatively with regard to competence stereotypes, such as technological competence and adaptability. Additionally, stereotypical portrayals that do not clearly belong to warmth or competence dimensions are found, such as the mentoring role stereotype and the costly stereotype. Because competence stereotypes weigh more heavily in employers’ productivity perceptions, these media portrayals might contribute to the employability problem of older employees. We suggest that older employees could benefit from a more realistic media debate about their skills and capacities.

Validation of the work-related age-based stereotypes (WAS) scale

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on developing and validating a multidimensional measure of work-related age-based stereotypes (WAS) scale.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based upon a review of the literature, a three-dimensional stereotype content model including both negative (incompetence, inadaptability) and positive (warmth) stereotypes of older workers was created. Construct, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity for the WAS scale were examined across three independent samples constituting both lab-based experimental studies and a field-based survey (total n=1,245).

Findings

– Across all samples, the WAS evidenced good construct, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity.

Originality/value

– As evidenced by a review of the literature, the WAS is unique in that it measures both negative and positive stereotypes of older workers. Implications for research are discussed.

"Old Oxen Cannot Plow": Stereotype Themes of Older Adults in Turkish Folklore

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Although much research has established the nature of attitudes and stereotypes toward older adults, there are conflicting explanations for the root cause of ageism, including the sociocultural view and interpersonal views, that age bias against older adults is uniquely a product of modernity and occurs through social interactions, and the evolutionary view and intraindividual views, that age bias against older adults is rooted in our naturally occurring and individually held fear of death. We make initial investigations into resolving this conflict, by analyzing literature from a society predating the Industrial Revolution, the society of Ottoman Turks.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Using Grounded Theory, we analyzed 1,555 Turkish fairy tales of the most well-known older adult in Turkish folklore, Nasreddin Hoca, for stereotype themes of older adults. Using the same method, we then analyzed 22,000+ Turkish sayings and proverbs for the same themes.

RESULTS

Results indicated older adults to be viewed both positively and negatively. Positive stereotypes included wisdom, warmth, deserving of respect, and retirement. Negative stereotypes included incompetence, inadaptability, and frailty/nearing of death. Older females were viewed more negatively relative to older males.

IMPLICATIONS

Results indicated views of older adults to parallel those found in contemporary research. Results have implications for the design of interventions to reduce ageism and on the cross-cultural generalizability of age-based stereotypes.