Subjective Views of Aging at Work and in the Retirement Transition

Abstract

AbstractEmployment represents an important life context in which people experience their own and others’ aging, including age-related increases (i.e., growth), stability (i.e., maintenance), and decreases (i.e., loss) in abilities, other characteristics and resources, and functioning. Relationships between chronological age and various work and career outcomes, including job performance, work-related attitudes, and occupational well-being, have been extensively investigated. In addition, a growing number of studies in the fields of organizational psychology and management have focused on workers’ subjective views of aging. The overarching goals of this chapter are to review conceptual and empirical research on the role of subjective views of aging at work and in the transition to retirement, and to outline directions for future theory development and research. The chapter first outlines the scientific and practical importance of considering workers’ subjective views of aging, above and beyond chronological age. Second, conceptual work and empirical findings in three established research areas, including age (meta-) stereotypes and age-based stereotype threat, perceived and subjective age, and occupational future time perspective in the work context are described. The chapter concludes with directions for future theory development and empirical research on subjective views of aging at work and in the transition to retirement. To this end, conceptualizations and research findings on subjective views of aging constructs that have received less attention in the context of work and retirement, including perceived relative age, perceived control over development and essentialist beliefs about aging, awareness of age-related changes, satisfaction with aging, and subjective life expectancy, are summarized.KeywordsEmploymentOrganizationsWork