scholarly journals Older workers as a source of wisdom capital: broadening perspectives

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anselmo Ferreira Vasconcelos
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Aging Workforce ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
Selective Bibliography ◽  
Mastery Avoidance ◽  
Avoidance Goals ◽  
Sizeable Number ◽  
Organizational Wisdom

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to pinpoint some key variables that help shape the notion of older workers as a source of organizational wisdom capital. Design/methodology/approach Toward that end, the paper reviews a selective bibliography in order to support its arguments. Findings The evidence garnered throughout this paper – fundamentally through different lens of analysis – suggests that older workers may be considered as valuable assets. Furthermore, a sizeable number of members of this cohort continue, even in the latter stages of their careers, to be willing, well-equipped, and able to enhance, if properly utilized, companies to achieve other patterns of performance. Accordingly, it is advocated here that their knowledge and expertise constitutes an authentic source of organizational wisdom capital that deserves careful attention from organizations to maintain by means of suitable incentives and training. Research limitations/implications This paper highlights other aspects that should not be disdained by organizations such as career-ending, work characteristics, and mastery-avoidance goals. Thus, companies that are interested in keeping older talents must be attuned to their wishes and aspirations, as well as being proactive by offering tailor-made job-products to them. Social implications Given the trend of aging workforce, it is likely that organizations will be increasingly impacted by societal demands and public policies toward benefiting and respecting older talents. Originality/value This paper advocates that older workers are usually living memories of organizational life. Rather, they tend to keep in their minds those failures and successful ideas, projects, initiatives, and leaderships, which added or not value throughout their trajectories, as well as things that worked out or not. Fundamentally, they are able to provide answers to vital questions.

The value of older library workers

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 226-229
Author(s):  
Michael A. Crumpton
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Aging Workforce ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to deal with recognizing and reacting to an aging workforce and understanding the value that older workers can still represent to an organization. Design/methodology/approach This article references field literature to support the points addressed. Findings Librarians and library workers have knowledge and experience that can provide value to both their organizations as they approach retirement and afterwards as retirees in a variety of ways. Originality/value This article represents the viewpoint of the author produced from his experiences and understandings.

Training strategies for an aging workforce

2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 334-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Koc‐Menard
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Job Seekers ◽  
Aging Workforce ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Older Employees ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
European Foundation ◽  
Targeted Approach ◽  
Study Database

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how organizations might support older workers' learning.Design/methodology/approachThe paper highlights an incoming HR challenge (training older workers), conducts a review of corporate responses in Europe, and then identifies lessons. Examples are drawn from the case study database of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.FindingsThe paper identifies four lessons. The first is to adopt a targeted approach, which involves both identifying older employees with key abilities and tailoring training products to their needs. The second lesson is to develop training initiatives that update job‐related skills and knowledge. The third is to complement skills update products with programs that expand the knowledge horizon of older employees. The fourth lesson is to integrate training into recruitment initiatives that target experienced job‐seekers.Originality/valueMany organisations are developing initiatives to tap into the older worker talent pool. Training is a critical component of strategies that seek to retain or attract experienced professionals. The paper provides practical advice that will help organizations to design and implement learning programs for older workers.

Older workers: some critical societal and organizational challenges

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anselmo Ferreira Vasconcelos
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
First Century ◽  
Aging Workforce ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Challenges ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Change Motivation ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Mature Workers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine some societal contemporary challenges that encompass both older workers and organizations likewise. Rather, it focusses especially on those ones related to ageist mindset, myths and misinformation about that cohort of workers. Design/methodology/approach – It draws on a literature review by first approaching the problem of ageism, given that it is a social phenomenon that, to a large extent, impairs mature workers by putting them aside, as well as disdains the value of their experience and knowledge. Second, it offers some counterarguments against such mindset by discussing positive aspects related to older workers in order to clarify the widespread myths and misinformation about them. Third, it depicts a conceptual framework composed of some challenging issues toward improving the workplaces for older workers. Findings – It reassures that the broader challenges of dignifying older workers may be better addressed through initiatives such as acknowledgment and sensitivity; diversity; learning and development; legislation; wise leadership and HR policies; change; motivation; accommodation of different generations; and ethical and moral principles. Practical implications – The majority of organizations have nowadays to handle with an aging workforce and, at the same time, keep their competitiveness. This scenario requires pertinent interventions and approaches in order to meet mature workers’ needs. Social implications – It argues that age discrimination can be regarded as a bizarre human creation that requires the involvement of all sectors of society so as to get rid of it. As a result, the first decades of twenty-first century likely will place the additional challenge (perhaps it may be regarded as an opportunity) for building more humanized and spiritual workplaces. Further, it is very clear that an ageist behavior does not fit in such a view. Originality/value – This paper examined some of the greatest problems related to aging workforce worldwide. In this sense, by reviewing the pertinent literature was possible to identify some challenges, integrate them into a conceptual frame and address their implications for organizations.

scholarly journals Doeloriëntaties en het tijdsperspectief van oudere werknemers: is er een verband met pensioenintenties?

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Peeters ◽  
Bert Schreurs ◽  
Jorg Damen
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Goal Orientations ◽  
Older Employees ◽  
Mastery Avoidance ◽  
Approach Goals ◽  
Avoidance Goals ◽  
Temporal Focus ◽  
Retirement Intentions ◽  
Future Focus ◽  
Mastery Approach

Goal orientations and temporal focus of older workers: What is the relation with retirement intentions? Goal orientations and temporal focus of older workers: What is the relation with retirement intentions? The aim of this study was to increase our insight into what motivates older employees to stay active on the labour market. For this we examined if and how the temporal focus of older workers is related to retirement intentions. It was assumed that mastery goal orientations (approach and avoidance) would mediate this relationship. 548 employees participated in the research. Our results showed that past focus was positively related to mastery avoidance goals whereas future focus was positively related to mastery approach goals. Moreover, mastery approach goals were positively related to retirement intentions and mastery avoidance goals were negatively related to retirement intentions. The conclusion is that the stimulation of a future focus as well as a mastery approach orientation play important roles in motivating older employees to work until retirement age.

Tailoring your benefits strategy for an aging workforce and why it’s good for business

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 258-261
Author(s):  
Andrew Frend
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Employee Benefits ◽  
Professional Experience ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
Aging Workforce ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Published Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to help human resources professionals tailor their benefits strategies to accommodate, recruit and maintain an experienced, talented, aging workforce. Design/methodology/approach Findings are based on the author’s professional experience in the employee benefits industry and recently published research from the Society for Human Resource Management and other industry and government sources. Findings By effectively tailoring benefits packages for their employees, companies can retain their older workers and capitalize on their knowledge and experience in ways that benefit their works and the business’ financial bottom line. Originality/value Individuals aged 55 and older will continue to comprise a significant portion of the workforce for the foreseeable future. This paper describes several strategies that companies can use to address the unique needs and challenges these workers face to benefit from their valuable skills and expertise.

Whirling in between the personal and the impersonal

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-284
Author(s):  
Armen E. Petrosyan
Keyword(s):  
Organization Theory ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Goals ◽  
Last Stage ◽  
First Time ◽  
Current Paradigm

Purpose The paper aims to present a systematic conceptual analysis of the problem of organizational goal and to reduce the insights into it provided by the main conceptions taken in their development from one to another, to break out of the ruling paradigm and outline a new solution. Design/methodology/approach The study has been carried out from the historical and critical perspective. Findings The paper discovers the logic of the evolution the approaches to organizational goals have undergone and portrays it in a matrix form in the heart of which is the “zigzag effect”: each posterior stage returns to the essential elements rejected by those preceding it, and the last stage, being diametrically opposite to the first, is, at that, as well as the latter, akin to the intermediate stages. The opportunities afforded by the current paradigm have been exhausted and it seems to run to an impasse. Instead, the author suggests a new frame of orientation: organizational goals are closely interknit with personal, but not reducible to them and bear fundamentally transpersonal character, while the mechanism of involving the preferences of individuals and groups in goal-setting is based on the self-contained interests of the organization they pertain to. Research limitations/implications The findings, conclusions and generalizations obtained can serve for a necessary ground to researchers getting deeper into the essence of what bonds organizational life and activity. Practical implications The material empowers practitioners to comprehend the difficulties of framing cohesive goal and find efficient ways to overcome them. It is of value also to the teachers seeking to present a more exact and elaborate view of teleological foundations of management and organization theory. Originality/value Both the conceptual analysis of the evolution of the approaches to organizational goals and the author’s exposition of its logic and vision of their nature are provided for the first time.

How do employers think about older workers?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hila Axelrad ◽  
Alexandra Kalev ◽  
Noah Lewin-Epstein
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Age Discrimination ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pension Income ◽  
Significant Barrier

PurposeHigher pensionable age in many countries that are part of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and a shrinking pension income force older people to postpone their retirement. Yet, age-based discrimination in employers' decisions is a significant barrier to their employment. Hence, this paper aims to explore employers' attitudes regarding the employment of workers aged 60–70, striving for a better understanding of age discrimination.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 30 managers, experts and employees in retirement age in Israel.FindingsFindings reveal a spectrum of employers' attitudes toward the employment of older workers. The authors' analytical contribution is a conceptual typology based on employers' perceived ability to employ older workers and their stated attitudes toward the employment of older workers.Social implicationsThe insights that emerge from this research are fundamental for organizational actors' ability to expand the productive, unbiased employment of older workers.Originality/valueBy understanding employers' preferences and perspectives and the implications on employers' ability and/or willingness to employ older workers, this research will help policymakers formulate and implement policy innovations that address these biases.

ManAGEment: the challenges of global age diversity for corporations and governments

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Mahon ◽  
Carla C.J.M. Millar
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Aging Workforce ◽  
Corporate Policies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Age Diversity ◽  
Dependency Ratios ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Global Age ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the challenges, worldwide of managing an aging workforce. The paper offers suggestions for public policy and for individual organizational approaches to developing, managing and motivating an aging workforce. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews in depth international literature, public policies and corporate policies that deal with an aging workforce. Findings – In virtually every nation in the world, society is aging and the costs to society – on multiple dimensions demand organizational action and changes in public policy. For the first time in recorded history the number of people aged 65+ will exceed those 15 and under starting in 2015. It is also predicted that those 80+ will be greater than those under 15 in Europe by 2060. Originality/value – This paper explores the impact of a worldwide aging society on the management of organizations and the demands that this aging will place on public policy. It addresses the profound impacts of changing dependency ratios on nations and on their future competitiveness.

scholarly journals Stereotype threat and older worker’s attitudes: a mediation model

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Oliveira ◽  
Carlos Cabral Cardoso
Keyword(s):  
Stereotype Threat ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Work Attitudes ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Work ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Taking a social identity approach, the purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which age-based stereotype threat mediates the relationships between older workers’ negative age-based metastereotypes and two negative work attitudes: organizational disidentification and work disengagement. Design/methodology/approach A two-wave cross-sectional design was adopted to collect data from 423 blue-collar older workers of the Portuguese manufacturing sector. Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediation model. Findings The analyses show that age-based stereotype threat partially mediates the relationship between negative age-based metastereotypes and negative work attitudes. Moreover, findings suggest that older workers respond to negative age-based metastereotypes through threat reactions, and undesirable work attitudes. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by showing the importance of negative age-based metastereotypes and age-based stereotype threat in workplace dynamics. It also provides evidence that age threats impair the relationship older workers keep with their organization and their work.

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