Engaging the Age-Diverse Workforce: The Interplay Between Personal and Contextual Resources

Abstract

The aim of this study was to increase our insight into fostering work engagement in an age-diverse workforce by examining the relationship between mastery goal orientation and work engagement across different age groups. We further tested whether a perceived motivational climate moderated the proposed relationships and whether the nature of the moderation differed depending on age group. In a cross-lagged survey of 838 employees in a Norwegian financial-sector organization, we found that both work engagement and mastery goal orientation differed across age groups and that the relationship between mastery goal orientation and work engagement was stronger for older than for younger age groups. Our results further support the moderating role of a motivational climate. Whereas a perceived mastery climate moderated the relationship between mastery goal orientation and work engagement for the older workers, a perceived performance climate moderated the suggested relationship for younger workers. Theoretical as well as practical implications of our results are discussed.