Digital Skills, STEM Occupation, and Job Automation Risks Among the Older Workers in the United States

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Advancing automation technologies are replacing certain occupations such as those involving simple food preparation more than occupations such as those in STEM fields (e.g., engineering and health care). Older workers generally face higher job automation risks in part due to their lower levels of digital skills. A better understanding of the associations between job automation risk, digital skills, and type of occupation (e.g., STEM vs non-STEM) can facilitate preparations for job automation and workforce population aging.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We analyzed a nationally representative sample (N = 1,560) of middle-aged and older U.S. workers aged 50-74 years from the 2012/2014/2017 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) restricted-use file. The estimated job automation risks (i.e., percentage of jobs to be automated in the next decades) were derived from the previous studies. PIAAC digital problem-solving skills proficiency (measured on a scale of 0-500 points) was assessed based on a series of practical digital tasks (e.g., finding a job research website that does not require registration).

RESULTS

Linear regression analysis showed that greater digital skill proficiency (b = -0.04, p < .05) and STEM occupations (b = -17.78, p < .001) each were associated with lower job automation risks, even after adjusting for a series of demographic, socioeconomic, and civic engagement characteristics.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Education and labor policy interventions to promote digital skills among older workers and non-STEM workers may better prepare an aging workforce for the dynamic labor market needs in the United States.

Servant leadership and employee voice behavior: the role of employee work reflection and employee proactive personality

Despite the recent proliferation of scholarly investigations on servant leadership, clarity remains elusive regarding the specific mechanisms and conditions underpinning employee cognitive processes and their responses to servant leadership. Drawing upon social cognitive theory, proposes a moderated mediation model tested through a time-lagged field data from 489 employees in Study 1 and an experimental data in Study 2. We found that servant leadership indirectly enhances employee voice behavior through increased employee work reflection. Additionally, we considered employee proactive personality as a boundary condition for the positive effect of servant leadership. Our results show that servant leadership prompts employee work reflection only when the level of employee proactive personality is high, which in turn increases employee voice behavior. This study presents significant theoretical and practical implications through the integration of social cognitive theory with servant leadership research.

Ten-Minute Physical Activity Breaks Improve Attention and Executive Functions in Healthcare Workers

Occupational health is a major problem in modern work environments. Physical activity breaks (PABs), short exercise periods delivered during working hours, incorporating exergames or outdoor activities, have emerged as a novel approach that could be used to improve work efficiency and workplace wellbeing. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of PABs on attention levels and executive functions in healthcare workers. A total of 27 healthcare workers (M = 14, W = 13; 49.55 ± 12.46 years), after 4 h of work, randomly performed one of three 10 min conditions weekly in a counterbalanced order: No Physical Activity Break (NPAB); Outdoor Physical Activity Break (OPAB); Physical Activity Break with Exergame (PABEx). After the conditions, executive functions and selective attention were assessed by the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT), and the Trail Making A,B test (TMT A,B), respectively. Significant differences between OPAB and NPAB as well as between PABEx and NPAB in the TMT-A test χ2(2) = 44.66 (p < 0.001) and TMT-B test χ2(2) = 48.67 (p < 0.001) were found, respectively. TMT-A and SCWT interference/time scores of the PABEx and OPAB conditions were significantly lower than those of NPAB (p < 0.001). In the SCWT interference/error score, no significant difference was found between the PABEx and NPAB (p > 0.05), but the score was statistically lower in the OPAB condition than PABEx (p = 0.001) and PABEx condition compared to OPAB for TMT-A (p = 0.001). Findings showed that the OPAB and PABEx conditions are effective in improving selective attention and executive functions in healthcare workers. Employers can foster a healthier and more productive workforce by promoting a culture of movement and prioritizing employee health, which in turn can enhance patient care outcomes.

Enhancing Footwear Safety for Fall Prevention in Older Adults: A Comprehensive Review of Design Features

BACKGROUND

Falls are a global concern affecting people of all ages; however, older adults are particularly vulnerable to age-related factors and foot-related issues. Footwear is critical for preventing falls, as it provides stability and protection against slips, trips, and falls (STFs). However, a significant gap exists in the systematic exploration of the safety aspects of footwear design for fall prevention in older adults.

METHODS

This comprehensive review applied a meticulous search strategy encompassing prominent databases, including Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, ResearchGate, and PubMed. This review synthesized and analyzed existing research to bridge knowledge gaps and provide insights into optimal footwear choices for older adults in terms of design features such as fit, fixation, heel height, collar height, slip resistance, and sole/insole hardness.

RESULTS

The results underscore the importance of specific design features for preventing falls among older adults. A proper fit, secure fixation, appropriate heel and collar heights, slip resistance, and sole/insole hardness significantly contributed to fall prevention. These findings offer valuable guidance for optimizing footwear designs to enhance comfort, stability, and safety in the daily lives of older individuals.

CONCLUSION

This comprehensive review fills a critical knowledge gap regarding the safety of footwear designs for fall prevention in older adults. The identified design features play a vital role in reducing the risk of falls and offer practical recommendations for the development of safer footwear. Ultimately, this study contributes to the existing knowledge base and supports efforts to prevent STFs in older adults through improved footwear design.

[Occupational health policies in older workers: comparative analysis between Spain and Chile]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze and compare the current Spanish and Chilean regulations regarding occupational risk prevention, regarding the existence of specific indications that protect the occupational health and safety of people over 55 years of age.

METHOD

Qualitative study in which a documentary content analysis was carried out using ATLAS/ti. The sample was 88 regulatory documents on occupational risk prevention for Spain and Chile. The guidance of the European Agency for Safety at Work (EU-OSHA) regarding age-critical risks was followed.

RESULTS

In global terms, 21.9% of the total Spanish documents analyzed show the explicit presence of considerations on aging, while for Chile this occurs in 9%. Both countries mention indications regarding ergonomic risks and noise. Shift work and psychosocial risks are considered only in Spain, while extreme temperatures, vibrations and geographical altitude appear exclusively in Chilean regulations. Neither country refers to issues inherent to working women (care responsibilities, menopause).

CONCLUSIONS

The Spanish regulations present a greater presence of indications on aging compared to the Chilean one. However, development in this area is insufficient in both countries. Chile and Spain have guides of recommendations, which are not mandatory, and their application is voluntary. This suggests that the prevention of occupational risks has a great pending challenge with people over 55 years of age.

Age-related positive emotional reactivity decline associated with the anterior insula based resting-state functional connectivity

Recent studies have suggested that emotional reactivity changes with age, but the neural basis is still unclear. The insula may be critical for the emotional reactivity. The current study examined how ageing affects emotional reactivity using the emotional reactivity task data from a human sample (Cambridge Center for Age and Neuroscience, N = 243, age 18-88 years). The resting-state magnetic resonance measurements from the same sample were used to investigate the potential mechanisms of the insula. In the initial analysis, we conducted partial correlation assessments to examine the associations between emotional reactivity and age, as well as between the gray matter volume (GMV) of the insula and age. Our results revealed that emotional reactivity, especially positive emotional reactivity, decreased with age and that the GMV of the insula was negatively correlated with age. Subsequently, the bilateral insula was divided into six subregions to calculate the whole brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). The mediating effect of the rsFC on age and emotional reactivity was then calculated. The results showed that the rsFC of the left anterior insula (AI) with the right hippocampus, and the rsFCs of the right AI with the striatum and the thalamus were mediated the relationship between positive emotional reactivity and age. Our findings suggest that attenuating emotional reactivity with age may be a strategic adaptation fostering emotional stability and diminishing emotional vulnerability. Meanwhile, the findings implicate a key role for the AI in the changes in positive emotional reactivity with age.

The psychophysics of home plate umpire calls

We analyze the visual perception task that home plate umpires (N = 121) perform calling balls and strikes (N = 3,001,019) in baseball games, focusing on the topics of perceptual learning and bias in decision-making. In the context of perceptual learning, our results show that monitoring, training, and feedback improve skill over time. In addition, we document two other aspects of umpires' improvement that are revealing with respect to the nature of their perceptual expertise. First, we show that biases in umpires' decision-making persist even as their overall accuracy improves. This suggests that bias and accuracy are orthogonal and that reduction of bias in decision-making requires interventions aimed specifically at this goal. Second, we measure a distinct difference in the rate of skill improvement between older and younger umpires. Younger umpires improve more quickly, suggesting that the decision task umpires engage in becomes routinized over time.

Sustainable employability and work engagement: a three-wave study

Introduction

The recent concept of sustainable employability (SE), which refers to being able and enabled to achieve valuable work goals, has lately attracted substantial attention in many developed countries. Although limited cross-sectional studies found that SE in the form of capability set was positively associated with work outcomes, why and through which mechanism SE is related to crucial work outcomes remains still unexplored. Therefore, the present three-wave study aimed to (1) investigate the SE-work outcomes linkage over time, and (2) uncover the psychological pathway between SE and two work outcomes (i.e., task performance and job satisfaction) by proposing work engagement as a mediator.

Methods

To test the mediation process, we approached CentERdata to collect data among a representative sample of 287 Dutch workers. We used a three-wave design with approximately a 2-month time lag.

Results

The results of bootstrap-based path modeling indicated that SE was a significant predictor of task performance but not job satisfaction over time. Work engagement mediated the relationships between SE and (a) task performance and (b) job satisfaction.

Discussion

These findings suggest that organizations may foster workers' task performance and job satisfaction by configuring a work context that fosters SE-allowing workers to be able and be enabled to achieve important work goals.

With a little help from my friends: adopting a P-E fit perspective in understanding the value of organizational learning climate for sustainable employability

Purpose

The objective of our study was to investigate how organizational learning climate (measured as developmental opportunities and team support for learning), career commitment, and age are related to employees' self-perceived employability, vitality and work ability (e.g., their sustainable employability). Our study adopted a P-E fit perspective building upon the notion that sustainable employability is a function of both the person (P) and the environment (E) and tests a three-way interaction between organizational learning climate, career commitment, and age.

Design

In total, 211 members of the support staff of a Dutch university completed a survey. Hierarchical stepwise regression analysis was used to analyze the data.

Findings

Only one of the two dimensions of organizational learning climate that we measured, namely the developmental opportunities, appeared to be associated with all indicators of sustainable employability. Career commitment only had a direct positive relationship with vitality. Age was negatively related to self-perceived employability and to work ability, but not to vitality. The relationship between developmental opportunities and vitality was negatively influenced by career commitment (a negative two-way interaction effect), while a positive three-way interaction effect was found between career commitment, age, and development opportunities, and with self-perceived employability as the outcome.

Theoretical and practical implications

Our findings confirmed the relevance of adopting a P-E fit perspective on sustainable employability, and of considering the possible role of age in this. It requires more detailed analyses in future research to unravel the role of age in the shared responsibility for sustainable employability. In practice, the results of our study imply that organizations should provide all employees with a working context that facilitates learning, however, with a special focus on older employees, for whom it is a particular challenge to protect their sustainable employability, possibly due to age-related stereotyping.

Originality

Our study adopted a P-E fit perspective on sustainable employability and examined the association between organizational learning climate and all three components of sustainable employability: self-perceived employability, vitality and work ability. Moreover, it investigated whether and how the employee's career commitment and age influence this relationship.

You Can Leave the Younger Workers Out of It! Toward a Centered Paradigm for Studying Older Workers’ Employment Relationships and Late-Career Dynamics

Are late careers worth studying in their own right? The way we think and reason about older workers and late careers—in scholarship and in practice—has been disproportionately informed by a research paradigm that focuses on age differences among employees, which captures how older workers on average differ from younger workers on average. While this contrastive paradigm has been generative, it can also inaccurately portray older workers as a static, homogenous group. In contrast, older workers show considerable heterogeneity (older workers vary), meaningful dynamics (older workers change), and dynamic heterogeneity (older workers vary in how they change). In this paper, we propose that the contrastive paradigm be complemented with a centered paradigm that centers on how older workers vary and change. We develop a theoretical model of how older worker dynamics and older worker heterogeneity shape the quality of their employment relationship—in terms of psychological contracts—which in turn shape their career trajectories and work role enactment. By centering this line of research on older workers, we gain a higher-resolution view of these late careers as unfolding over time and varying among older workers.

Do people become more proactive at work as they grow older? Examining the mediating roles of intrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion, and career aspiration

Today, there is an increasingly aging workforce. Previous studies have examined whether aged people exhibit more positive attitudes, better health, and better performance. However, the relationship between age and proactive work behavior has seldom been examined, which is unfortunate since organizations need employee proactivity to deal with uncertainty and unpredictability. Based on socioemotional selectivity theory, we propose that age might be positively related to proactive work behavior through intrinsic motivation and emotional exhaustion because older people tend to manage their emotions and obtain intrinsic enjoyment. But age might be negatively related to proactive work behavior through career aspiration because older people focus less on future development. With a sample of 393 people, we revealed intrinsic motivation and career aspiration. The findings could help us better understand how age is related to organizational outcomes and individual differences in proactive work behavior. They could also further reduce age-related discrimination and encourage organizations to manage older people in wise and better ways.

Differential effect of age in academia: a three-way interaction effect of age, technological aids and knowledge sharing on research output

Purpose

Amidst the concerns surrounding knowledge sharing, especially in academia, the study attempts to understand its impact on Research output. To deepen our understanding, the study considered the differing impact of age on knowledge sharing and research output through the lens of Continuity Theory and Socioemotional Selectivity Theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 385 faculties working in higher education institutions in India. The study uses Hierarchical regression analysis in SPSS 22.0 to test the hypotheses proposed.

Findings

A three-way interaction analysis of 385 faculties confirmed our presumption that the effect of knowledge sharing on research output was different for the two-age groups. Surprisingly, the positive effect of knowledge sharing on research output was stronger in older faculties than younger ones. However, technology usage and its effect on research output, declined with age.

Research limitations/implications

Findings gave interesting insights which contradict our earlier notions of increasing age and suggest that instead of blaming increasing age alone for the reduced output, attention must be paid towards other hidden influencing factors.

Originality/value

The study is the first of its kind that investigates the effectiveness of knowledge sharing in academia and the impact of age on the underlying phenomenon. This study makes a novel attempt to deepen our understanding of the impact of age on research output.

Aging workforce with reduced work capacity: From organizational challenges to successful accommodations sustaining productivity and well-being

Israel is experiencing accelerated workforce aging and increasing retirement age that began in the last two decades. Aging workers suffer from increased illness and impairment rates, challenging employing organizations with reduced work capacity. Occupational health practitioners often assist employers in accommodating these challenges. However, insufficient evidence on prognostic factors, organizational practices, and age management tools hamper successful accommodation. Research on the organizational perceptions of aging workers is also limited. Our study aims to (1) identify the domains in which the aging workforce challenges Israeli organizations according to a multi-level theoretical model we developed, and (2) assess the practices employed by organizations to address the declines in work capacity from employers' and workers' perspectives. Our qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews of 26 employers and workers' representatives from eight Israeli organizations sampled by maximum variation according to organizational characteristics. Thematic framework analysis of organizational perceptions on challenges, facilitators, and practices in use, via aging workers' cases was utilized. We identified organizational challenges on five levels: individual worker, work environment, interpersonal team relationships, organization, and community relationships, stemming from the aging workers' reduced capacity to meet job demands and conditions. Time adjustments, work environment changes, and job task changes were common accommodations practices used by the organizations. Successful accommodations from the employers' perspective preserved workers' and teams' productivity, and from the workers' perspective, those that lowered demand and improved job control without damaging earnings or job status. Taken together, organizations from all economic sectors should prepare for the increasing need to accommodate work conditions for aging workers with limitations to preserve their health and safety. Balancing employers' and workers' perspectives when accommodating workers with reduced work capacity is imperative to promote healthy aging at the workplace. Government intervention is advised to encourage continued job participation to reduce employment termination.

Daily work pressure and task performance: The moderating role of recovery and sleep

Whereas previous research has focused on the link between (mental and physical) workload and task performance, less is known about the intervening mechanisms influencing this relationship. In the present study, we test the moderating roles of daily recovery and total sleep time in the relationship between work pressure and daily task performance. Using performance and recovery theories, we hypothesized that (a) work pressure relates positively to daily task performance, and that both (b) daily recovery in the form of psychological detachment and relaxation, and (c) total sleep time independently enhance this relationship. Our hypotheses were tested in a 30-day diary study with 110 officer cadets on a cross-Atlantic voyage on a Naval sail ship. The results of multilevel modeling lend support to all three hypotheses. Taken together, our findings suggest that recovery and sleep duration between shifts play a key role in the relationship between daily work pressure and task performance. We discuss the implications of these findings for the stressor-detachment model.

Evaluation of a multi-component training programme for employees aged 50

Lifelong learning offers an opportunity for mature employees to stay adept in the light of changing demands, to promote health and counteract physical and cognitive decline. This intervention study evaluates the effects of a multi-component training programme for employees aged 50+ , focussing on competence expectations, stress management, cognitive, metacognitive and psychomotoric training. Effects were evaluated in a longitudinal control group design with follow-up after six months (24 training groups, n = 247, participants per group: M = 13.04, SD = 2.44; control group, n = 199). To control for experimenter effects the same programme was administered to 6 additional groups by trained instructors (n = 54, participants per group: M = 11.83, SD = 3.37). To validate effects of the multi-component training 12 supplementary groups were included, with 4 groups each focusing on either the competence (n = 49, participants per group: M = 15.00, SD = 0.00) or cognitive (n = 43, participants per group: M = 14.25, SD = 1.50) or stress management components (n = 41, participants per group: M = 14.50, SD = 0.58). Data of 633 adults (mean age: M = 55.03, SD = 3.71 years) were analysed. Participants reported high acceptance of the programme. The multi-component training programme was effective regarding improvements in subjective health, self-concept of professional competence, self-efficacy, coping with stress and cognitive abilities with long-term effects for the latter four. Trainings administered by trained instructors had similar effects to those administered by the programme's designers. The single-component trainings led to specific effects in the focused areas, overall comparable to those of the multi-component training. Unexpectedly, cognitive effects were obtained by all single-component trainings. Subjective health and self-efficacy were only promoted by the multi-component training, indicating broader effects. The results are discussed with respect to strengths and limitations of the study, possible mechanisms underlying the effects, suggestions for further research as well as for the training's implementation in business practice.

Age Diversity Management in Organizations Scale: Development and Evidence of Validity

Abstract This study aimed to develop the Age Diversity Management in Organizations scale for the Brazilian context and verify its evidence of validity. The process included five steps: proposal of its definition and development of the items according to the literature; content and semantic validity by judges; semantic validity by the target population; exploratory factorial analysis (EFA); and confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA). The EFA sample consisted of 674 workers from different organizations and the CFA of 722 workers. The final version of the scale was composed of 20 items (α =.91), divided into four factors: retirement preparation practices (5 items, α =.93); equal treatment for workers of different ages (6 items, a=.85), training to promote age diversity (5 items, α =.81), and management practices for older workers (4 items, α =.72). The theoretical and practical implications as well as the limitations of this measure are discussed.

Which Personal and Organizational Factors Influence the Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction of Shipyard Blue-Collar Workers?

Background: The purpose of this research was to analyze which personal and organizational factors are related to organizational commitment and job satisfaction of shipyard workers who work in different auxiliary shipyard military companies in the north of Spain. Methods: In total, 567 shipyard workers participated in this cross-sectional survey study. The ages were between 19 and 64 (M = 39.36, SD = 10.01), males 82.52%, females 17.48%. We used a survey that included questions about personal and organizational factors such as physical environment, occupational risks, and psychosocial risks, in addition to the job commitment and job satisfaction scales. Results: The results of this study show that job commitment is significantly related to a higher age, lower education, and environmental risk (low vs. high). Furthermore, job satisfaction (high vs. low) and organizational commitment (high vs. low) is related with environmental risk (low vs. high). Job commitment is also higher in workers with a low educational level and older workers. Job satisfaction is lower in workers with a high educational level. Conclusions: This study shows that different personal and environmental factors influence the shipyard workers’ organizational commitment and job satisfaction.

Relationship between age, workplace slips and the effectiveness of slip-resistant footwear among healthcare workers

Objectives

To explore any age-related trend in workplace slip rate and assess the effectiveness of appropriate slip-resistant footwear in preventing workplace slips by age.

Methods

Secondary data analysis of the Stopping Slips among Healthcare Workers trial, a two-arm randomised controlled trial conducted between March 2017 and May 2019. 4553 National Health Service (NHS) staff across seven sites in England were randomised 1:1 to the intervention group (provision of 5* GRIP-rated slip-resistant footwear) or the control group (usual work footwear). The primary outcome was self-reported workplace slips, ascertained primarily through weekly text messages throughout the 14-week trial follow-up and analysed using mixed-effects negative binomial regression. This paper reports a control group-only analysis of the association between age and slip rate, and a full intention-to-treat analysis of the effectiveness of slip-resistant footwear by age.

Results

The mean age of participants was 43 years (range 18–74). In the control group-only analysis, slip rate differed by age (p<0.001) with those aged 60+ having double the slip rate of those aged <30 years (95% CI 1.40 to 2.87). In the intention-to-treat analysis, the interaction between allocation and age was statistically significant (p=0.002). In addition, for all age groups except those aged <30 years, the slip rate in the intervention group was statistically significantly lower than the control group; the smallest incidence rate ratio (ie, the biggest effect) was 0.39 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.64) in the 60+ age group.

Conclusion

The provision of appropriate slip-resistant footwear was more effective at reducing workplace slips for older NHS staff.

Who will I be when I retire? The role of organizational commitment, group memberships and retirement transition framing on older worker’s anticipated identity change in retirement

Retirement is an eagerly awaited life transition for many older workers, but some may anticipate their exit from the workforce will result in loss of meaningful work-based activities and social interactions. For older workers more committed to their organization, retirement might represent a threat to maintaining a consistent, positive identity. Across three pre-registered studies of US adults aged 49 to 75, we investigated the relationship between organizational commitment and anticipated identity changes in retirement. Studies 1 and 2 (N = 1059) found that older workers largely anticipated positive changes to their identity in retirement. In Study 2, we divided older workers into two conditions and used a framing manipulation to present retirement as either a ‘role exit’ or a ‘role entry’. In the ‘role exit’ condition, older workers less committed to their organization anticipated more positive changes when they held more group memberships compared to those with fewer group memberships. Those in the ‘role entry’ condition anticipated significantly more positive changes to their identity in retirement than those in the ‘role exit’ condition, but did not anticipate more positive changes based on organizational commitment or group memberships. More group memberships, but not lower organizational commitment, was associated with more positive anticipation of identity changes in retirement. Study 3 (N = 215) surveyed older adults after they had retired, finding that identity changes experienced post-retirement were less positive than those anticipated by older workers. We discuss the theoretical and applied implications of these findings for older workers’ retirement decisions and wellbeing.

Chinese Versus United States Workplace Ageism as GATE-ism: Generation, Age, Tenure, Experience

Ageism is a pan-cultural problem, and correspondingly, increased research attention worldwide has focused on how a person's age drives prejudice against them. Nevertheless, recent work argues that chronological age alone is a limited predictor of prejudice-particularly in the workplace, where age conflates intertwined elements (e.g., life stage and work experience), and across cultures, in which the nature of ageism can substantially differ. A recent organizational behavior (GATE) framework advocates for extending beyond numerical age alone, focusing instead on prejudice arising from workers' perceived Generation (birth cohort), Age (life stage), Tenure (time with organization), and Experience (accumulated skillset over time). In addition to clarifying the multifaceted nature of workplace ageism, GATE helps uncover potential cultural ageism differences. Using the United States and China as focal Western and Eastern prototypes, the current paper compares Eastern and Western cultures through a GATE Lens. Eastern and Western cultures adopt different perceptions of generations (e.g., United States "Boomers," versus Chinese "Cultural Revolution" generation), elder life stages (United States warm-but-incompetent older adults, versus Eastern pragmatic elder resource concerns), organizational tenure expectations (Western job-hopping, versus Eastern filial-piety-based loyalty), and desired experience levels (shaped different by higher Eastern frequency of mandatory retirement practices and family business ventures). Moreover, existing research offers clues for how workplace GATE-ism likely differs between cultures, but more research is needed. Future research should adopt a nuanced GATE conception of "age"-ism, toward enhanced ageism understanding and the ability to utilize a globally aging workforce.

Work changes and employee age, maladaptive coping expectations, and well-being: a Swedish cohort study

Purpose

Older workers are expected to suffer more from work changes than younger ones, but empirical evidence is lacking. Negative responses to work changes may result rather from maladaptive coping expectations. This study examined possible age differences in job and life satisfaction, and sleep disturbances, after work changes (voluntary and involuntary job changes, reorganizations) and the moderating role of maladaptive coping expectations.

Methods

Four biennial waves from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) including respondents who participated in all four waves (n = 3084). We used multilevel path analyses to estimate direct and moderated relationships between work changes and outcomes.

Results

Involuntary job changes were associated with lower job and life satisfaction and more sleep disturbances. Reorganizations were only associated with lower job satisfaction. Older employees were more satisfied with their jobs and lives than younger employees and experienced more sleep disturbances. After involuntary job changes, older employees had similar (lower) levels of well-being as younger ones, but they reported more sleep disturbances when having experienced reorganizations. Maladaptive coping expectations were related to lower job and life satisfaction and more sleep disturbances. Employees with maladaptive coping expectations reported more sleep disturbances after involuntary job changes and reorganizations.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that there are few age differences in well-being after work changes. Employee well-being seems to mostly depend on maladaptive coping expectations. Organizations aiming to prepare employees for job changes and reorganizations could focus their efforts on employees with maladaptive expectations rather than on older ones.

Supervisor-Subordinate Age Dissimilarity and Its Impact on Supervisory Ratings of Employability: Does Supportive Learning Context Make a Difference?

Status incongruence resulting from a supervisor who is younger than their subordinate potentially leads to age stereotyping of employees. This article investigates the relationship between age difference and supervisory ratings of five competence-based measures of subordinate employability (Occupational Expertise, Anticipation/Optimisation, Personal Flexibility, Corporate Sense, and Balance). In addition, we consider the buffering role of a supportive learning context which allows older workers access to learning resources. Learning context is represented by duration of the supervisory relationship, perceived organizational learning climate and participation in, and application of, training and development. Using 295 dyads of employees and their direct supervisors in a Dutch building company, findings show that age dissimilarity reflecting status incongruence was related to lower supervisory ratings of Occupational Expertise (job-related competence) and Corporate Sense (social/organizational competence) regardless of learning context. Longer duration relationships exacerbated, rather than buffered, the age difference effect on some types of supervisory ratings. The implications of these findings for age stereotyping with regard to employability are considered.

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.

Characteristics of Workplace Psychosocial Resources and Risk of Diabetes: A Prospective Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether characteristics of workplace psychosocial resources are associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes among employees.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Participants were 49,835 employees (77% women, aged 40-65 years, and diabetes free at baseline) from the Finnish Public Sector cohort study. Characteristics of horizontal (culture of collaboration and support from colleagues) and vertical (leadership quality and organizational procedural justice) psychosocial resources were self-reported. Incident type 2 diabetes (n = 2,148) was ascertained through linkage to electronic health records from national registers. We used latent class modeling to assess the clustering of resource characteristics. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the relationship between the identified clusters and risk of type 2 diabetes during 10.9 years of follow-up, adjusting for age, sex, marital status, educational level, type of employment contract, comorbidity, and diagnosed mental disorders.

RESULTS

We identified four patterns of workplace psychosocial resources: unfavorable, favorable vertical, favorable horizontal, and favorable vertical and horizontal. Compared with unfavorable, favorable vertical (hazard ratio 0.87 [95% CI 0.78; 0.97]), favorable horizontal (0.77 [0.67; 0.88]), and favorable vertical and horizontal (0.77 [0.68; 0.86]) resources were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, with the strongest associations seen in employees at age ≥55 years (Pinteraction = 0.03). These associations were robust to multivariable adjustments and were not explained by reverse causation.

CONCLUSIONS

A favorable culture of collaboration, support from colleagues, leadership quality, and organizational procedural justice are associated with a lower risk of employees developing type 2 diabetes than in those without such favorable workplace psychosocial resources.

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.

Following Up on Employee Surveys: A Conceptual Framework and Systematic Review

Employee surveys are often used to support organizational development (OD), and particularly the follow-up process after surveys, including action planning, is important. Nevertheless, this process is oftentimes neglected in practice, and research on it is limited as well. In this article, we first define the employee survey follow-up process and differentiate it from other common feedback practices. Second, we develop a comprehensive conceptual framework that integrates the relevant variables of this process. Third, we describe the methods and results of a systematic review that synthesizes the literature on the follow-up process based on the conceptual framework with the purpose of discussing remaining research gaps. Overall, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the organizational and human factors that affect this process. This is useful for practitioners, as it provides guidance for the successful implementation of this human resource practice. For example, research suggests that it is important to enable managers as change agents and to provide them with sufficient resources.

Companion robots for older adults: Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis approach

This study aims to analyze the concept of companion robots for older adults from the perspective of nursing. This study employed a concept analysis. The literature from July 2011 to June 2021 was sought from databases using specific keywords. Any quantitative or qualitative study published in English or Korean focusing on companion robots for older adults was included in the study. Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis was used to clarify the antecedents, attributes, and consequences. Seventy-five eligible articles were studied. The findings were categorized into antecedents, attributes, and consequences. Companion robot antecedents were classified into individual factors, attitude toward robots, and caregiver and social factors. The defining attributes included human-robot interaction, function, features, structure, cost, and management of the robot being a companion. Consequences were categorized into user, caregiver, and health related. Companion robots are designed to enhance well-being, quality of life, and independence by providing service and companionship and assisting daily life. This mainly includes cognitive and social support, mobility support, relaxation, health monitoring, and self-care support through human-robot interaction. The attributes, antecedents, and consequences of companion robots identified in this study can inform future decision making and interventions by caregivers for aging in place.

Ethics in Design and Implementation of Technologies for Workplace Health Promotion: A Call for Discussion

Aim: This study aims to initiate discussion on the ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of technologies for workplace health promotion. We believe this is a neglected topic and such a complex field of study that we cannot come up with solutions easily or quickly. Therefore, this study is the starting point of a discussion about the ethics of and the need for policies around technologies for workplace health promotion. Method: Based on a literature review, the present study outlines current knowledge of ethical issues in research, development, and implementation of technologies in the workplace. Specifically, the focus is on two ethical issues that play an important role in the worker-employer relation: privacy and autonomy. Application: Two cases indicative for a multidisciplinary project aimed at developing and evaluating sensor and intervention technologies that contribute to keeping ageing workers healthy and effectively employable are explored. A context-specific approach of ethics is used to investigate ethical issues during the development and implementation of sensor and intervention technologies. It is a holistic approach toward the diverse field of participants and stakeholders, and the diversity in perceptions of relevant values, depending on their respective professional languages. Discussion: The results show how protecting the privacy and autonomy of workers cannot be seen as stand-alone issues, but, rather, there is interplay between these values, the work context, and the responsibilities of workers and employers. Consequently, technologies in this research project are designed to improve worker conscientious autonomy, while concurrently creating balance between privacy and health, and assigning responsibilities to appropriate stakeholders. Conclusion: Focusing on a contextual conceptualisation of the ethical principles in the design and implementation of digital health technologies helps to avoid compartmentalization, out-of-context generalisation, and neglect of identifying responsibilities. Although it is a long reiterative process in which all stakeholders need to be included in order to assess all ethical issues sufficiently, this process is crucial to achieving the intended goal of a technology. Having laid out the landscape and problems of ethics around technologies for workplace health promotion, we believe policies and standards, and a very overdue discussion about these, are needed.

Return to Work and Associated Costs after Treatment for Dupuytren's Disease

BACKGROUND

Return to work is potentially an important factor in assessing the success of treatment. However, little is known about the return to work after treatment for Dupuytren's contracture. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to assess return to work after limited fasciectomy and percutaneous needle fasciotomy.

METHODS

Patients who underwent either a limited fasciectomy or percutaneous needle fasciotomy were invited to complete a return-to-work questionnaire at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months postoperatively. Median time to return to work was assessed using inverted Kaplan-Meier curves, and hazard ratios were calculated with Cox regression models. Finally, a cost analysis was carried out using the human capital method to determine indirect costs associated with loss of productivity.

RESULTS

The authors included 2698 patients in the study, of which 53 percent were employed at intake and included in the follow-up. After 1 year of follow-up, 90 percent of the patients had returned to work. Median time to return to work was 2 weeks after limited fasciectomy and within days after percutaneous needle fasciotomy. Furthermore, physically strenuous work, female sex, and higher age were associated with a longer time to return to work. Lost productivity per patient was estimated at €2614.43.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of patients returned to work after treatment for Dupuytren's disease. Return to work is much faster after percutaneous needle fasciotomy compared to limited fasciectomy. These findings can be used for more evidence-based preoperative counseling with patients with Dupuytren's disease.

Challenges arising for older workers from participating in a workplace intervention addressing work ability: a qualitative study from Germany

OBJECTIVE

Studies examining what renders workplace interventions to sustain and promote work ability of older workers successful have largely neglected older workers´ perspective. This paper outlines the results of a study with regard to older workers´ experiences and expectations of a workplace intervention. Based on these findings, some reflections on how to improve the design and the implementation of workplace interventions for older workers are provided.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with older workers (N = 8) participating in a workplace intervention undertaken at one production site of a large manufacturing company in Baden-Wurttemberg/Germany. The interview guide included questions on participants´ experiences with and expectations of the intervention. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring (2014).

RESULTS

Older workers´ reported some challenges they face due to their participation in the workplace intervention. These resulted from the work environment (physical challenges), the work process design (new long work cycle), the work organization (tight time allowances, little job rotation, change of teams, age stereotypes) and the management of the workplace intervention (bad information, feeling of occupational insecurity and lack of being valued).

CONCLUSIONS

The study shows that challenges arising for older workers from their participation in the workplace intervention may have counteracted the promotion of work ability. As findings suggest, some of these challenges might have been avoided either by considering workers´ perspective during design and implementation of an intervention or by referring to evidence on aging and work ability.

Multivariate correlations between pain, life interference, health-related quality of life and full-time sick leave 1 year after multimodal rehabilitation, focus on gender and age

BACKGROUND

Chronic pain is a major and complex health condition associated with reduced work performance. A multimodal rehabilitation programme (MMRP) is a common intervention for chronic pain conditions, the goal being for the person to maintain or return to work.

AIM

To investigate the multivariate relationships between health-related quality of life, life interference, pain, physiological factors before MMRP and full-time sick leave 1 year after MMRP.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Data were collected from the Swedish Quality Registry for Pain Rehabilitation. The study included 284 participants. Separate analyses were performed for women, men and three age groups.

RESULTS

There were correlations between sick leave, physical functioning, pain duration, health-related quality of life, and self-assessed importance of work before MMRP and sick leave 1 year after MMRP. The patterns of factors associated with full-time sick leave varied for women, men and age groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that full-time sick leave for patients with chronic pain is affected by a number of interacting factors. Occupational therapy interventions aiming to develop activity skills in relation to work roles and enable patients to develop skills required to manage the physical, psychological and social demands to return to work or maintain work could be valuable to increase the possibility of attaining a sustainable work situation.

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.

Insights into the Sustainable Return to Work of Aging Workers with a Work Disability: An Interpretative Description Study

Purpose A sustainable return to work (S-RTW) following prolonged work disability poses particular challenges as workers age. This article provides a synthesis of the factors and issues involved in a S-RTW process for aging workers following such a disability. Methods Using interpretive description methods, a critical review was conducted of the literature specifying return-to-work factors and issues for aging workers with regard to four major causes of work disability (musculoskeletal disorders, common mental disorders, cancer or other chronic diseases). The initial review concerned the 2000-2016 literature, and was subsequently updated for November 2016-December 2018. To further explore and contextualise the results of this literature review, four focus groups were held with stakeholders, representing the workplace, insurance, and healthcare systems and workers. Qualitative thematic analysis was performed. Results Fifty-five articles were reviewed and 35 stakeholders participated in the focus groups. Returning to work and staying at work appear to be particularly challenging for aging workers, who face notable issues and stigma concerning their ability to meet work demands, as well as their mobilisation and engagement in these processes. Such findings echo in many ways the main assertions of the literature on aging at work, except those regarding the transformation of capacities with aging, which is not mentioned in relation to workers with a work disability. The influence of healthcare and compensation systems on the S-RTW of aging work-disabled workers has also received little attention to date. Conclusions The results underscore that aging workers with a disability are frequently vulnerable in terms of their health or their jobs. Intersectoral efforts are needed to remedy this situation to keep them at work.

Employable as We Age? A Systematic Review of Relationships Between Age Conceptualizations and Employability

This systematic review aimed to provide an overview of earlier research on the relationships between age conceptualizations (i.e., calendar age, organizational age, lifespan age, psychosocial age, and functional age) and indicators of employability. We have conducted a systematic literature search using PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, Business Source Complete, CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, and Science Direct. Two raters evaluated the articles and subsequently distinguished k = 41 studies that met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. Our review revealed that many researchers adopted different operationalizations to measure employability (15 studies were based on an input- or competence-based measure of employability, 23 studies included an output- or labor market-based measure of employability, and three studies included a combination of both measures). Moreover, most studies included calendar age (40 studies, 97.6%) as indicator of aging at work, and were based on a cross-sectional design (34 studies, 82.9%; 17.1% a longitudinal design). Based on the Standardized Index of Convergence (SIC) method, different types of evidence were found for the relationships between age and the employability measures. For relationships between psychosocial age and lifespan age, on the one hand, and employability measures, on the other hand, too few studies were found to draw conclusions. Yet, for relationships between calendar age and labor market-based measures strong consistent negative relationships were found across the studies, and moderately strong positive relationships were found for functional age and labor market- based measures. For organizational age and both competence-based as well as labor market-based measures moderately strong negative relationships were found. We discuss the implications of these results and propose a research agenda for future studies.

The Science of Workplace Instruction: Learning and Development Applied to Work

Learning is the engagement in mental processes resulting in the acquisition and retention of knowledge, skills, and/or affect over time and applied when needed. Building on this definition, we integrate the science of training and the science of learning to propose a new science of workplace instruction, linking the design of instructional events to instructional outcomes such as transfer and job performance through the mediating effects of learner events and learning outcomes. We propose three foundational elements: the learner, instructional principles, and training delivery (methods and media). Understanding and applying instructional principles are the primary methods for enhancing training effectiveness; thus, we detail 15 empirically supported principles. We then discuss the erroneous pursuit of aptitude-by-treatment interactions under the guise of learner styles and age-specific instruction. Finally, we offer suggestions for future research that draw on the foundation of instructional principles to optimize self-directed learning and learning in synthetic learning environments.

Intergenerational workplace knowledge sharing: challenges and new directions

Purpose

Drawing on theories pertaining to knowledge sharing, ageing at work and human resource practices for ageing workers, this article explores knowledge sharing challenges arising from the interaction between an increasingly ageing workforce and younger employees.

Design/methodology/approach

Contextually, the authors focus on China, where the pace of demographic transformations offers a unique opportunity to investigate knowledge sharing practices in their socio-economic context. Empirically, the authors analyse knowledge sharing behaviours and practices of retail banking professionals in a Chinese big four bank.

Findings

The encouragement of knowledge sharing between younger and older workers should be incorporated into organisations' human resource strategies. The availability of development, maintenance, utilisation and accommodative human resource practices signals to older workers that they are valuable and are worth investing in.

Originality/value

The authors’ contribution to theory and practice is twofold: starting with the identification of perceived knowledge sharing challenges, the authors’ analysis offers important contextually grounded insights into what types of managerial practices are relevant in eliciting successful knowledge sharing within organisations faced with an ageing workforce.

The Importance of Intra-Organizational Networking for Younger Versus Older Workers: Examining a Multi-Group Mediation Model of Individual Task Performance Enhancement

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of intra-organizational networking on individual task performance, via employability. Moreover, this study also examines whether this relationship differs for younger (<40 years) versus older employees (≥40 years). A self-report questionnaire was distributed among a sample of employees working in a range of different types of organizations (n = 374). We conclude that employability fully mediates the relationship between intra-organizational networking and individual task performance. However, this mediation effect did not vary between younger and older employees. This study extends past research by applying a human capital perspective (in particular, social capital) and life-span development frameworks for explaining employability and task performance enhancement across one's working life. It provides useful insights for stimulating career development and individual performance growth, by means of social capital, herewith increasing the individual employee's chance to survive in nowadays' labor markets.

Retaining an age-diverse workforce through HRM: The mediation of work engagement and affective commitment

An aging population and an increasingly age-diverse workforce exemplify the complex challenge that age represents for most managers today. For that reason, research has shown the importance of designing and implementing human resources (HR) practices that meet age-related differences in workers’ motives and needs. Drawing on signaling and social exchange theories, the current study investigated a first stage moderated parallel multiple mediation model. We examined the mediating roles of work engagement and affective commitment in the relationship between age-diversity practices and turnover intention, as well as the moderating role of work centrality in these mediated relationships. Using a sample of 802 Portuguese workers, the study supported the parallel multiple mediation hypotheses. Further, the findings revealed that work centrality moderated the relationship between age-diversity practices and turnover intention via work engagement, but not via affective commitment. Age-diversity practices may motivate those workers who place less importance on work to be more engaged, which, in turn, reduces their intentions to leave the organization. Moreover, all workers, regardless of the importance that work plays in their life, are more emotionally attached to the organization and more willing to stay when there are age-diversity practices. Thus, to retain a healthy and productive age-diverse workforce, organizations should implement age-diversity practices. Empirical and practical implications are discussed.

Prolonged or preserved working life? Intra-organisational institutions embedded in human resource routines

The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of why people are still retiring earlier than would have been expected, despite policies that increase the retirement age. This is a qualitative study in a large public-service organisation in Sweden focusing particularly on how human resource routines aimed at middle management tend to inhibit the promotion of a prolonged working life, despite government efforts aimed at changing these actions. The results highlight three key routines (development talks, salary talks and internal recruitment) that inhibit prolonged working life. These routines seem rational and appropriate to the organisation's managers, because the demands of the job must have priority over employees’ capabilities in recruitment routines. Furthermore, it could be considered economically rational to prioritise salary demands of younger employees over those of older employees, and it may appear economically rational to stop further training efforts for older employees. In general, then, it seems reasonable to managers to make decisions based on objective criteria like age. Nevertheless, our results suggest that these routines may need to be redesigned in order to support a prolonged working life and to avoid a discrepancy between accepted prolonged working-life policies and the actions of organisational actors. The study further reveals how intra-organisational institutions (e.g. taken-for-granted mind-sets and norms) embedded in human resource routines may promote or inhibit prolonged working life, suggesting a need for change in those institutions.

Understanding business owners' challenge and hindrance appraisals

Purpose

The aim is to expand the challenge-hindrance framework and develop a coherent theoretical framework that explains individual differences in the way small business owners appraise their job demands. Literature has shown that dealing effectively with job demands leads to competitive advantage and depends on individual appraisals.

Design/methodology/approach

For this qualitative study, 20 in-depth interviews were analyzed using a partially grounded theory approach.

Findings

Open and axial coding revealed a broader range of demands than have hitherto been studied, related to actions rather than job characteristics. Selective coding confirmed expectations based on the Conservation of Resources Theory that appraisals of demands differ between business owners and change over time depending on role identities, and material, social, personal and energy resource levels, via the valence (identities) and degree of anticipated outcomes. Business owners appraised certain demands as challenging when they were co-occurring with other demands usually categorized as challenges, whereas these same demands were appraised as hindering when co-occurring with demands usually categorized as hindrances.

Research limitations/implications

The results imply that appraisals can be influenced by societal context, life events, processes of formal and informal learning, personal growth and aging. These topics would be interesting avenues for future research.

Originality/value

The results of this study challenge our understanding of job demands in general and current categorizations of job demands as challenges versus hindrances in specific, by providing an in-depth, contextualized and dynamic view of the appraisal of demands related to owning and running a business.

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Older Workers: The Role of Self-Regulation and Organizations

We live in an unusual time, which effects all of us in different ways. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some people are working harder than ever, some people have lost their job, some people can only work from home, and some people have to reinvent how they work (Kniffin et al., 2020). Older 50+ workers might even be more affected by the pandemic compared to younger workers because they are labeled as vulnerable and as being at risk in terms of Covid-19 (Ayalon et al., 2020). However, emerging studies on the impact of Covid-19 suggest that older workers respond more effectively to measures that counter Covid-19 (Losada-Balter et al., 2020). This is in line with the lifespan developmental perspective, which theorizes and demonstrates that older adults generally are very capable of adapting and very effective in dealing with the aging process (Baltes and Baltes, 1990; Freund, 2008). Multiple studies show that older adults engage in various self-regulation strategies aimed at continuously maintaining or restoring person-environment fit (e.g., Kooij et al., 2020; Taneva and Arnold, 2018; Zacher, Kooij, & Beier, 2018a) thus helping them to age successfully at work. In this commentary, I will take a more positive perspective on older workers and discuss the self-regulation strategies that older workers engage in and how organizations can stimulate this. I will end my commentary with some suggestions for future research.

Ageism in Working Life: A Scoping Review on Discursive Approaches

Background and Objectives

This review investigates the contribution of discursive approaches to the study of ageism in working life. It looks back on the 50 years of research on ageism and the body of research produced by the discursive turn in social science and gerontology.

Research Design and Methods

This study followed the 5-step scoping review protocol to define gaps in the knowledge on ageism in working life from a discursive perspective. About 851 papers were extracted from electronic databases and, according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, 39 papers were included in the final review.

Results

The selected articles were based on discursive approaches and included study participants along the full continuum of working life (workers, retirees, jobseekers, and students in training). Three main themes representing the focal point of research were identified, namely, experiences of ageism, social construction of age and ageism, and strategies to tackle (dilute) ageism.

Discussion and Implications

Discursive research provides undeniable insights into how participants experience ageism in working life, how ageism is constructed, and how workers create context-based strategies to counteract age stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. Discursive research on ageism in the working life needs further development about the variety of methods and data, the problematization of age-based labeling and grouping of workers, and a focus on the intersection between age and other social categories. Further research in these areas can deepen our understanding of how age and ageism are constructed and can inform policies about ways of disentangling them in working life.

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.