Age and Work Engagement: Testing Mechanisms and the Roles of Age-related HR Practices

Abstract

The aging population across the globe is driving substantial changes in workforce demographics. Accordingly, engaging the aging workforce becomes an important mission for organizations. However, empirical findings regarding the age-work engagement relationship remain elusive and theoretical explanations have been equivocal and disjointed, suggesting both age-related advantages and challenges in staying engaged at work. Additionally, it remains unclear how organizations may implement age-related HR practices to leverage the age-related advantages while mitigating the challenges. Guided by lifespan development theories and the workplace aging literature, I take a two-study, multi-method approach to address these research questions in my research. In Study 1 (a meta-analytic study), I examine multiple theory-based countervailing mechanisms (i.e., occupational future time perspective; the use of selection, optimization, and compensation [SOC] strategies; physical health; and age discrimination experience) that simultaneously link age to work engagement. In Study 2 (a field investigation), I propose and test a multilevel research model to probe how these mechanisms are shaped by age-specific HR practices (i.e., older worker-specific HR practices) and age-neutral HR practices (i.e., age-inclusive HR practices). Taken together, my research will further scholarly understanding of the complex and multifaceted nature of aging processes at work and provide implications for organizations to design age-wise HR practices in managing the aging workforce.