Older workers face problems in the labor market due to dominant beliefs about their abilities: they are perceived as reliable, trustworthy, and loyal, but also as less adaptable, less motivated, and less capable compared to younger workers. The mixed beliefs about older workers resonate with the stereotype of older people in society according to the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) of being warm but less competent and are reflected in news and corporate media. The present study contributes by approaching stereotypes about older workers’ employability from a communication perspective. The study examines which requirements are communicated by employers in job advertisements targeting older job seekers, compared to those in job advertisements targeting general job seekers. This is done by using automated content analysis to inductively identify prominently advertised requirements, and to examine how these align with the older workers’ stereotype. Additionally, interviews with recruitment experts are conducted to provide explanation and interpretation. Findings reveal that the persistent idea about older workers performing well on so-called soft abilities and poorer on so-called hard abilities is reflected in job advertisements targeting older job seekers, as these represent requirements related to hard abilities to a lesser extent, whereas abilities related to customer service are more often requested. The mixed beliefs about older workers are reflected in the expert perspective of recruiters too, although with some optimism that older workers’ soft abilities fit well with employers’ need for a social and responsible workforce. The study contributes to insights regarding the SCM and framing theory.
{"title":"In Search of the Older Worker: Framing Job Requirements in Recruitment Advertisements","authors":"M. Selm, Linda van den Heijkant","doi":"10.1093/WORKAR/WAAA026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/WORKAR/WAAA026","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Older workers face problems in the labor market due to dominant beliefs about their abilities: they are perceived as reliable, trustworthy, and loyal, but also as less adaptable, less motivated, and less capable compared to younger workers. The mixed beliefs about older workers resonate with the stereotype of older people in society according to the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) of being warm but less competent and are reflected in news and corporate media. The present study contributes by approaching stereotypes about older workers’ employability from a communication perspective. The study examines which requirements are communicated by employers in job advertisements targeting older job seekers, compared to those in job advertisements targeting general job seekers. This is done by using automated content analysis to inductively identify prominently advertised requirements, and to examine how these align with the older workers’ stereotype. Additionally, interviews with recruitment experts are conducted to provide explanation and interpretation. Findings reveal that the persistent idea about older workers performing well on so-called soft abilities and poorer on so-called hard abilities is reflected in job advertisements targeting older job seekers, as these represent requirements related to hard abilities to a lesser extent, whereas abilities related to customer service are more often requested. The mixed beliefs about older workers are reflected in the expert perspective of recruiters too, although with some optimism that older workers’ soft abilities fit well with employers’ need for a social and responsible workforce. The study contributes to insights regarding the SCM and framing theory.","PeriodicalId":46486,"journal":{"name":"Work Aging and Retirement","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2021-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83784082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This editorial introduces the Special Issue on “Age and Emotions in Organizations.” The Special Issue aims at leveraging theory and research on emotional aging to better understand the work-related consequences associated with employees’ age. After summarizing relevant theories of emotional aging, we develop 3 overarching conceptual models that allow for a categorization of research linking age, emotions, and work outcomes. We emphasize that these models are applicable to a wide range of age-related and emotion-related variables as well as work outcomes at multiple levels of analysis, and they allow for the inclusion of a broad array of personal and contextual boundary conditions. Building on these considerations, we summarize the 5 articles comprised within this Special Issue. Finally, we depict a number of future directions for research aimed at understanding age effects in organizations through an emotional lens.
{"title":"Age and Emotions in Organizations: Main, Moderating, and Context-Specific Effects","authors":"S. Scheibe, Frank Walter, Yurjie Zhan","doi":"10.1093/WORKAR/WAAA030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/WORKAR/WAAA030","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This editorial introduces the Special Issue on “Age and Emotions in Organizations.” The Special Issue aims at leveraging theory and research on emotional aging to better understand the work-related consequences associated with employees’ age. After summarizing relevant theories of emotional aging, we develop 3 overarching conceptual models that allow for a categorization of research linking age, emotions, and work outcomes. We emphasize that these models are applicable to a wide range of age-related and emotion-related variables as well as work outcomes at multiple levels of analysis, and they allow for the inclusion of a broad array of personal and contextual boundary conditions. Building on these considerations, we summarize the 5 articles comprised within this Special Issue. Finally, we depict a number of future directions for research aimed at understanding age effects in organizations through an emotional lens.","PeriodicalId":46486,"journal":{"name":"Work Aging and Retirement","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84823986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Understanding the effects of intergenerational contact at work is important given aging and increasingly age-diverse workforces. The aim of this research was to better understand who derives motivational benefits from intergenerational contact, and the processes by which this occurs. To do so, we adopted a motivational lens grounded in need-based theories of work motivation and lifespan development theory. We argue that the motivating effect of intergenerational contact on work engagement via sense of belonging is more pronounced for older compared to younger employees due to changes in goal priorities across the lifespan. Specifically, we posit the generativity motive and perceived remaining time at work as lifespan-related mechanisms that explain the moderating effects of age on the links between intergenerational contact and work engagement. In Study 1, a laboratory experiment with 45 younger and 45 older participants in Switzerland, we found support for a causal effect of intergenerational contact on sense of belonging. In Study 2, a three-wave field study with 560 employees in Germany, we found that sense of belonging mediated the relation between intergenerational contact and work engagement. Further, perceived remaining time at work explained the moderating effect of age on the link between sense of belonging and work engagement. By highlighting age differences in the motivating potential of intergenerational contact, we advance research on intergroup contact, employee motivation, and workforce aging.
{"title":"Explaining Age Differences in the Motivating Potential of Intergenerational Contact at Work","authors":"A. Burmeister, A. Hirschi, H. Zacher","doi":"10.1093/WORKAR/WAAB002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/WORKAR/WAAB002","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the effects of intergenerational contact at work is important given aging and increasingly age-diverse workforces. The aim of this research was to better understand who derives motivational benefits from intergenerational contact, and the processes by which this occurs. To do so, we adopted a motivational lens grounded in need-based theories of work motivation and lifespan development theory. We argue that the motivating effect of intergenerational contact on work engagement via sense of belonging is more pronounced for older compared to younger employees due to changes in goal priorities across the lifespan. Specifically, we posit the generativity motive and perceived remaining time at work as lifespan-related mechanisms that explain the moderating effects of age on the links between intergenerational contact and work engagement. In Study 1, a laboratory experiment with 45 younger and 45 older participants in Switzerland, we found support for a causal effect of intergenerational contact on sense of belonging. In Study 2, a three-wave field study with 560 employees in Germany, we found that sense of belonging mediated the relation between intergenerational contact and work engagement. Further, perceived remaining time at work explained the moderating effect of age on the link between sense of belonging and work engagement. By highlighting age differences in the motivating potential of intergenerational contact, we advance research on intergroup contact, employee motivation, and workforce aging.","PeriodicalId":46486,"journal":{"name":"Work Aging and Retirement","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90637994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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