The Effects of Supervisor Sex and Work Environment on Attitude toward Older Employees

Abstract

The effects of supervisor gender and work environment (public versus private sector) on supervisors' attitudes toward older employees were investigated. Participants attending a supervisory development institute completed questionnaires relating to performance appraisal practices in the public and private sectors. As part of this larger study, 120 participants were selected at random and combined in a balanced, 2 × 2 factorial ANOVA. Two independent variables — supervisor sex and type of work environment — were manipulated to assess their effects on supervisors' attitudes towards older employees. A significant main effect was found for type of work environment, confirming the hypothesis that public sector supervisors were more lenient in their evaluations of older employees. A main effect was also found for supervisor gender, but not in the predicted direction. Female supervisors were found to be more unfavorable in their evaluations of older employees. No interaction was found. Implications of findings and suggestions for future research are offered.