How do idiosyncratic deals contribute to the employability of older workers?

Uncovering Missing Voices: Invisible Aspects of Idiosyncratic Deals (I-Deals)

To provide context for this special issue’s eight articles, we review the lenses adopted in i-deals research and its findings and then address under-studied aspects of i-deals. Part of the societal trend toward customization of employment arrangements, the i-deals workers negotiate for themselves are the subject of a growing body of research. We observe that i-deals research investigates both antecedents and consequences of i-deals at levels from the individual and dyad to team and organization. Numerous theories have been applied to explain i-deal phenomena beginning with social exchange theory in its initial research to social comparison and diverse theories regarding human needs and values. Employers are known to use i-deals to attract, motivate, and retain workers, while employees pursue i-deals to better their work lives and career opportunities. Although the positive effects of i-deals for organizations and i-dealers alike are well-documented, potential negative effects are under-studied. Moreover, white collar workers in developed countries are the recurrent focus in i-deals research to the neglect of other occupations and societies. In this article and special issue, we seek insights regarding understudied aspects of i-deals to deepen investigation into their myriad manifestations and effects.

Factors Affecting Request & Receipt of I-deals: An Investigation in the Context of Older Workers

I-deals are a key method for organizations to retain and motivate employees, yet little research has investigated employee motivations for seeking i-deals and antecedents to request and receipt. We examine these largely invisible antecedents of i-deals in the context of older workers, a cohort of increasing importance in the workplace. Through thematic analysis of 82 in-depth interviews with Australian workers over the age of 50, we develop a model of i-deal emergence that delineates the motivation, request, and receipt stages of i-deals. We identified four motivational influences to seek i-deals: to improve work–life balance, to repair psychological contract breach, and to craft satisfactory retirement pathways; high levels of existing job-role autonomy acted as a demotivator to request i-deals. We also identified three factors associated with an i-deal request being granted: an older worker’s value to the organization, positive employee–manager relationships, and emphasis of mutual benefit for employee and employer. We identified a novel antecedent for i-deals: feasibility—an older worker’s perception of how likely they are to be successful when requesting a desired i-deal. Feasibility perceptions are informed by organizational practices and policies around i-deals, co-worker i-deal experiences, and job-role constraints. Feasibility can influence an employee’s decisions to request an i-deal and also directly affect attitudes toward the employer, regardless of whether an i-deal is present, desired, or otherwise. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed and future directions outlined.

Ticket to Ride: I-deals as a Strategic HR Tool for an Employable Work Force

We describe how idiosyncratic deals (I-deals), in this case I-deals focused on workers’ employability enhancement, can serve as a powerful strategic HR tool for simultaneously meeting both the strategic goals of employers and the career goals of employees. Building on a sustainable career perspective, I-deals are interpreted as highly valuable, as they can help individual employees to more easily adapt to the fast-changing environments that nowadays characterize society and the labor market. After theoretical outlines on the concepts of I-deals and employability, we argue that I-deals can form the basis for integrative employment relationships aimed at employability enhancement. This article concludes with concrete recommendations for practice, indicating that in order to enable the sound use of I-deals as a strategic HR tool, organizations should discuss I-deals and employability openly through constructive dialogue. Moreover, examples for achieving this through specific practices, such as working with employability coaches and world cafés on employability, are described.

Organisational and individual resources as antecedents of older nursing professionals' organisational commitment: Investigating the mediating effect of the use of selection, optimisation and compensation strategies

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

To investigate how organisational and individual resources are linked to older (50+) nursing professionals' organisational commitment, and to examine the possible mediating role of the active use of selection, optimisation and compensation (SOC) strategies.

BACKGROUND

Many healthcare organisations need to find ways to retain their older nursing professionals due to nursing shortage.

DESIGN

To test a set of hypotheses, cross-sectional survey data (n = 396) were used. Data were analysed using correlation analysis and partial least-squares structural equation modelling. STROBE Statement for cross-sectional studies has been followed in this study.

RESULTS

The results exhibited that both individual and organisational resources and the active use of SOC strategies were positively associated with older nursing professionals' organisational commitment. The active use of SOC strategies had a partially mediating role in the relationship between individual resource (career management self-efficacy) and organisational commitment. Similarly, career management self-efficacy partially mediated the association between organisational resources (perceived high-involvement work practices) and organisational commitment.

CONCLUSIONS

Regarding the retention of older nursing professionals, attention should be paid to both individual and organisational resources and the active use of SOC strategies.

RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

By providing opportunities to actively use SOC strategies and by paying attention to career management self-efficacy among older nursing professionals, nursing managers may influence the retention of the older nursing workforce. Similarly, supportive organisational practices can support older nursing professionals' career management self-efficacy and their organisational commitment.

Leaving early or staying on? Retirement preferences and motives among older health-care professionals

There is a need for improved knowledge about how workplace conditions and organisational factors may obstruct or facilitate work in late life. By means of both quantitative and qualitative data, this study aims to explore retirement preferences among employees (aged 55 and older) in a large Swedish health-care organisation and to identify work-related motives influencing their retirement preferences. The quantitative analysis showed large variation in retirement preferences in the organisation. The qualitative results were summarised into two overarching types of motives for late and early retirement preferences, general and group-specific. The general motives were shared by the early and late preference groups, and included recognition, flexibility, health and work motivation. The group-specific motives were exclusively related to either an early or a late retirement preference. Criticism towards the organisation and strenuous working conditions were specific motives for an early retirement preference, while positive accounts of work and a wish to utilise one's own competencies as well as being financially dependent on work was stated as specific motives for wanting to retire late. The results illustrate the need to improve organisational practices and routines, as well as working conditions, in order to make an extended working life accessible for more than already-privileged groups of employees.

Opening the Black Box of I-Deals Negotiation: Integrating I-Deals and Negotiation Research

Individualized work arrangements (“i-deals”) negotiated by employees are increasingly common in contemporary employment. Existing research largely focuses on phenomena emerging after the creation of i-deals, particularly their consequences for employees and organizations. This focus overlooks the fundamental processes associated with negotiating i-deals in the first place. I-deals research originating in the last two decades can benefit from the more advanced body of research on negotiations, particularly in its attention to negotiation preparation and the bargaining process. We examine how negotiation research and theory inform our understanding of the dynamics operating in the creation of i-deals. In doing so, we identify key features of negotiation research that apply to i-deal formulation and use these to develop an agenda for future research on i-deals.

Future Time Perspective in the Work Context: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Studies

A core construct in the lifespan theory of socioemotional selectivity, future time perspective (FTP) refers to individuals’ perceptions of their remaining time in life. Its adaptation to the work context, occupational future time perspective (OFTP), entails workers’ perceptions of remaining time and opportunities in their careers. Over the past decade, several quantitative studies have investigated antecedents and consequences of general FTP and OFTP in the work context (i.e., FTP at work). We systematically review and critically discuss this literature on general FTP (k = 17 studies) and OFTP (k = 16 studies) and highlight implications for future research and practice. Results of our systematic review show that, in addition to its strong negative relationship with age, FTP at work is also associated with other individual (e.g., personality traits) and contextual variables (e.g., job characteristics). Moreover, FTP at work has been shown to mediate and moderate relationships of individual and contextual antecedents with occupational well-being, as well as motivational and behavioral outcomes. As a whole, findings suggest that FTP at work is an important variable in the field of work and aging, and that future research should improve the ways in which FTP at work is measured and results on FTP at work are reported.