Moving European research on work and ageing forward: Overview and agenda

This paper summarizes the state of affairs of European research on ageing and work. After a close inspection of the age construct, an overview is presented of research in four areas: the relationship between age and HR-policies, early retirement, age and performance/employability, age and health/well-being. The overview results in a research agenda on work and ageing and in recommendations for practice.

Was wollen jüngere und ältere Erwerbstätige erreichen? Altersbezogene Unterschiede in den Inhalten und Merkmalen beruflicher Ziele [What do younger and older workers want to accomplish? Age-related differences in content and characteristics of occupational goals ]

Demographic changes necessitate that companies commit younger workers and motivate older workers through work design. Age-related differences in occupational goals should be taken into account when accomplishing these challenges. In this study, we investigated goal contents and goal characteristics of employees from different age groups. We surveyed 150 employees working in the service sector (average age = 44 years, age range 19 to 60 years) on their most important occupational goals. Employees who stated goals from the area of organizational citizenship were significantly older than employees with other goals. Employees who stated goals from the areas of training and pay/career were significantly younger than employees with other goals. After controlling for gender, education, and work characteristics, no age-related differences were found in the goal areas teamwork, job security, working time, well-being, and new challenges. In addition, no relationships were found between age and the goal characteristics specificity, planning intensity, as well as positive and negative goal emotions. We recommend that companies provide older workers with more opportunities for organizational citizenship and commit younger workers by providing development opportunities and adequate pay

Young at heart, old at work? Relations between age, (meta-)stereotypes, self-categorization, and retirement attitudes

The aims of this study were to examine how workers' negative age stereotypes (i.e., denying older workers' ability to develop) and negative meta-stereotypes (i.e., beliefs that the majority of colleagues feel negative about older workers) are related to their attitudes towards retirement (i.e., occupational future time perspective and intention to retire), and whether the strength of these relationships is influenced by workers' self-categorization as an “older” person. Results of a study among Dutch taxi drivers provided mixed support for the hypotheses. Negative meta-stereotypes, but not negative age stereotypes, were associated with fewer perceived opportunities until retirement and, in turn, a stronger intention to retire. Self-categorization moderated the relationships between negative age (meta-)stereotypes and occupational future time perspective. However, contrary to expectations, the relations were stronger among workers with a low self-categorization as an older person in comparison with workers with a high self-categorization in this regard. Overall, results highlight the importance of psychosocial processes in the study of retirement intentions and their antecedents.

Using Lifespan developmental theory and methods as a viable alternative to the study of generational differences at work

I agree with Costanza and Finkelstein (2015) that it is futile to further invest in the study of generational differences in the work context due to a lack of appropriate theory and methods. The key problem with the generations concept is that splitting continuous variables such as age or time into a few discrete units involves arbitrary cutoffs and atheoretical groupings of individuals (e.g., stating that all people born between the early 1960s and early 1980s belong to Generation X). As noted by methodologists, this procedure leads to a loss of information about individuals and reduced statistical power (MacCallum, Zhang, Preacher, & Rucker, 2002). Due to these conceptual and methodological limitations, I regard it as very difficult if not impossible to develop a “comprehensive theory of generations” (Costanza & Finkelstein, p. 20) and to rigorously examine generational differences at work in empirical studies.

Influences on novice drivers' speed selection - a systematic review: Application and limitations of theory and methodology

Background Excessive speed is a primary contributing factor to young novice road trauma, including intentional and unintentional speeds above posted limits or too fast for conditions. The objective of this research was to conduct a systematic review of recent investigations into novice drivers’ speed selection, with particular attention to applications and limitations of theory and methodology. Method Systematic searches of peer-reviewed and grey literature were conducted during September 2014. Abstract reviews identified 71 references potentially meeting selection criteria of investigations since the year 2000 into factors that influence (directly or indirectly) actual speed (i.e., behaviour or performance) of young (age <25 years) and/or novice (recently-licensed) drivers. Results Full paper reviews resulted in 30 final references: 15 focused on intentional speeding and 15 on broader speed selection investigations. Both sets identified a range of individual (e.g., beliefs, personality) and social (e.g., peer, adult) influences, were predominantly theory-driven and applied cross-sectional designs. Intentional speed investigations largely utilised self-reports while other investigations more often included actual driving (simulated or ‘real world’). The latter also identified cognitive workload and external environment influences, as well as targeted interventions. Discussion and implications Applications of theory have shifted the novice speed-related literature beyond a simplistic focus on intentional speeding as human error. The potential to develop a ‘grand theory’ of intentional speeding emerged and to fill gaps to understand broader speed selection influences. This includes need for future investigations of vehicle-related and physical environment-related influences and methodologies that move beyond cross-sectional designs and rely less on self-reports.

Links between emotional job demands and occupational well-being: Age differences depend on type of demand

In the growing health care sector, meeting emotional job demands is crucial to organizational outcomes but may negatively affect employees’ well-being. Drawing on the emotional aging literature, we predicted that two common emotional job demands, display demands (expressing positive, negative, and neutral emotions toward clients) and sensitivity demands (knowing what the client is feeling), affect older health care workers’ occupational well-being differently than young workers, as indicated by their job satisfaction and need for recovery. Survey data from employees of senior care homes (N = 141, aged between 17 and 62 years) confirmed the moderating role of age for links between emotional job demands and occupational well-being indicators. Emotional display demands were generally positively associated with emotional dissonance; however, the association between demands to display neutral emotions and emotional dissonance was stronger among young compared with older employees. In contrast, among older but not young employees, emotional dissonance was negatively associated with job satisfaction, and emotional sensitivity demands were positively associated with need for recovery. These findings suggest that age may confer both advantages (facing neutral display demands) and vulnerabilities (facing emotional dissonance and sensitivity demands) in managing emotional job demands.

Reducing age bias and turnover intentions by enhancing intergenerational contact quality in the workplace: The role of opportunities for generativity and development

Based on socio-emotional selectivity and self-categorization theories, we developed and tested a model on how the interplay between employee age and opportunities for generativity and development predicts age bias and turnover intentions via intergenerational contact quality in the workplace. We hypothesized indirect effects of opportunities for generativity on outcomes through intergenerational contact quality among older workers only, whereas we expected that the indirect effects of opportunities for development are stronger for young compared with older workers. Data came from 321 employees in Belgium who responded to an online questionnaire. Results showed that age moderated the relationships of opportunities for generativity and development with intergenerational contact quality consistent with the expected patterns. Furthermore, age moderated the indirect effects of opportunities for generativity and development on age bias through intergenerational contact quality, but not on turnover intentions. Implications for future research and practical suggestions for managing intergenerational contact at work are discussed.

Older workers' age as a moderator of the relationship between career adaptability and job satisfaction

Research on career adaptability and its relationships with work outcomes has so far primarily focused on the cohort of younger workers and largely neglected older workers. We investigated the relationship between career adaptability and job satisfaction in a sample of 577 older workers from Australia (M age = 59.6 years, SD = 2.4, range 54–66 years), who participated in a 4-wave substudy of the 45 and Up Study. Based on socioemotional selectivity theory, we examined older workers’ chronological age (as a proxy for retirement proximity) and motivation to continue working after traditional retirement age as moderators of the relationship between career adaptability and job satisfaction. We hypothesized that the positive relationship between career adaptability and job satisfaction is stronger among relatively younger workers and workers with a high motivation to continue working compared to relatively older workers and workers with a low motivation to continue working. Results showed that older workers’ age, but not their motivation to continue working, moderated the relationship between career adaptability and job satisfaction consistent with the expected pattern. Implications for future research on age and career adaptability as well as ideas on how to maintain and improve older workers’ career adaptability and job satisfaction are discussed.

Successful aging at work

The expression successful aging at work and related terms such as active, healthy, and productive aging at work are frequently used by organizational researchers and practitioners. However, there are no concrete definitions or theoretical frameworks that explain their meaning, assumptions, and underlying processes. In this paper, I first review conceptualizations of successful aging in the fields of gerontology and life span psychology. Second, I propose a working definition of successful aging at work based on four key elements: criteria, explanatory mechanisms, facilitating and constraining factors, and temporal patterns. I distinguish successful aging at work from usual and unsuccessful aging and from other age-related developments in the work context. Third, I introduce a theoretical framework organized around 5 principles on intraindividual age-related change over time, person and contextual mediators and moderators, and work outcomes. Fourth, I review theoretical and empirical research on age in the workplace published in the past decade through the lens of the proposed theoretical framework. Finally, I conclude this paper by outlining suggestions for future research on successful aging at work, including methodological considerations.

Digital access to knowledge in the preschool classroom: Reports from Australia

Australian preschool teachers’ use of Web-searching in their classroom practice was examined (N = 131). Availability of Internet-enabled digital technology and the contribution of teacher demographic characteristics, comfort with digital technologies and beliefs about their use were assessed. Internet-enabled technologies were available in 53% (n = 69) of classrooms. Within these classrooms, teacher age and beliefs predicted Web-searching practice. Although comfortable with digital access of knowledge in their everyday life, teachers reported less comfort with Web-searching in the context of their classroom practice. The findings identify the provision of Internet-enabled technologies and professional development as actions to support effective and confident inclusion of Web-searching in classrooms. Such actions are necessary to align with national policy documents that define acquisition of digital literacies as a goal and assert digital access to knowledge as an issue of equity.

Physical activity in mid-age and older women: Lessons from the Australian longitudinal study on women’s health

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) commenced in Australia in 1996 when researchers recruited approximately 40,000 women in three birth cohorts: 1973–1978, 1946–1951, and 1921–1926. Since then participants have completed surveys on a wide range of health issues, at approximately three-year intervals. This overview describes changes in physical activity (PA) over time in the mid-age and older ALSWH cohorts, and summarizes the findings of studies published to date on the determinants of PA, and its associated health outcomes in Australian women. The ALSWH data show a significant increase in PA during mid-age, and a rapid decline in activity levels when women are in their 80s. The study has demonstrated the importance of life stages and key life events as determinants of activity, the additional benefits of vigorous activity for mid-age women, and the health benefits of ‘only walking’ for older women. ALSWH researchers have also drawn attention to the benefits of activity in terms of a wide range of physical and mental health outcomes, as well as overall vitality and well-being. The data indicate that maintaining a high level of PA throughout mid and older age will not only reduce the risk of premature death, but also significantly extend the number of years of healthy life.

Age-based demographics of the pearl perch Glaucosoma scapulare (Ramsay, 1881)

Summary: This research represents the first age-based demographic assessment of pearl perch, Glaucosoma scapulare (Ramsay, 1881), a highly valued species endemic to coastal waters off central eastern Australia. The study was conducted across the species' distribution that encompasses two state jurisdictions (Queensland in the north and New South Wales in the south) using data collected approximately 10 years apart in each state. Estimates of age were made by counting annuli (validated using marginal increment ratios) in sectioned sagittal otoliths. The maximum estimated age was 19 years. Pearl perch attained approx. 12 cm fork length (FL) after one year, 21 cm FL after 2 years and 29 cm FL after 3 years. Fish from the southern end of the species' distribution grew significantly more slowly than those from the northern part of its range. Commercial landings in the north were characterized by greater proportions of larger (>40 cm FL) and older (>6 years) fish than those in the south, with landings mainly of fish between 3 and 6 years of age. The observed variations in age-based demographics of pearl perch highlight the need for a better understanding of patterns of movement and reproduction in developing a model of population dynamics and life-history for this important species. There is a clear need for further, concurrent, age-based studies on pearl perch in the northern and southern parts of its distribution to support the conclusions of the present study based on data collected a decade apart. © 2013 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

A systematic review of studies identifying predictors of poor return to work outcomes following workplace injury

BACKGROUND: Injuries occurring in the workplace can have serious implications for the health of the individual, the productivity of the employer and the overall economic community. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to increase the current state of understanding of individual demographic and psychosocial characteristics associated with extended absenteeism from the workforce due to a workplace injury. METHODS: Studies included in this systematic literature review tracked participants' return to work status over a minimum of three months, identified either demographic, psychosocial or general injury predictors of poor return to work outcomes and included a heterogeneous sample of workplace injuries. RESULTS: Identified predictors of poor return to work outcomes included older age, female gender, divorced marital status, two or more dependent family members, lower education levels, employment variables associated with reduced labour market desirability, severity or sensitive injury locations, negative attitudes and outcome perceptions of the participant. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for clear and consistent definition and measurement of return to work outcomes and a holistic theoretical model integrating injury, psychosocial and demographic predictors of return to work. Through greater understanding of the nature of factors affecting return to work, improved outcomes could be achieved.