The longer life expectancy combined with decreasing birth rates in many developed countries has led to a growing awareness of the need for older adults to extend their working lives. As more people reach their 80s and 90s, working into their late 60s and 70s will become more common for social, mental engagement, and economic reasons. However,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating relationship between organizational culture, informal learning and work engagement of older workers in a public organizational setting. More specifically, this study aimed to investigate if informal learning is a pivotal component connecting an organizational-level factor (culture) to…

Purpose: This study aims to explore whether participation in employer-provided skills and learning programs can strengthen older workers' abilities to carry out their work in a meaningful way so that it increases work attractiveness and a willingness to remain in the current job position. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was distributed to…

This study adopted self-identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) to examine the role of affective and cognitive identification and the perception of aging with regard to Chinese employees' successful aging in the workplace. A total of 242 Chinese workers in Hong Kong aged 45 and above were recruited. Results showed that cognitive identification…

This paper analyzes a puzzling aspect of retirement behavior known as "unretirement." Nearly 50 percent of retirees follow a nontraditional retirement path that involves partial retirement or unretirement, and at least 26 percent of retirees later unretire. I explore two possible explanations: (1) unretirement transitions result from failures in…

An emerging phenomenon, the older worker reporting to a much younger supervisor, is reversing the tradition that managers are older and more experienced than subordinates. These age-related demographic changes are bringing about a role reversal in the workplace that violates established age norms, creating status incongruence in the…

Understanding the antecedents to retirement and bridge employment is important to older-aged adults who seek ways to smoothly transition to full retirement, and to organizations that benefit from retaining their highly skilled and most experienced workers, especially in occupations for which labor shortages are projected. We tested the effects of…

This paper evaluates the need and prospects for older workers to develop and deploy effective and critical personal epistemologies in order to maintain workplace competence, successfully negotiate work transitions and secure ontological security in their working life. Furthermore, it addresses different ways of reflecting by workers, which types…

Experience Works is a national organization that provides training and employment services to older adults. Its Prime Time Awards Program honors contributions of older workers in their 70s and beyond, demonstrating the continued ability and productivity of this population as well as the benefits they derive from productive work. (SK)

Interviews with 17 tenured university professors aged 70 74 showed that most continued to work because they enjoyed it or felt their work was important. Their institutional or departmental environment was positive and they felt little pressure to retire. Most had no plans to retire. (Contains 36 references.) (SK)

Older workers appear more sensitive to labor market conditions in discouragement trms as well as on regular measures of labor force participation. Thus, the age-mismatch group is especially important in the interpretation of discouraged worker patterns. (Author)

Survey responses from 17 of 18 employed and 54 of 65 retired college professors aged 70-74 showed that the employed were less likely to be married and have children/grandchildren and more strongly oriented to their professional role. Retirees wanted to pursue other interests or had workplace concerns. Both groups had high life satisfaction.…

The labor force participation of older workers may surpass recent projections due to reductions in retirement benefits and labor shortages. However, employers' attitudes about hiring older workers have not changed enough. (Contains 24 references.) (SK)

Although age and work commitment have been correlated positively in previous studies, the studies have not clearly defined whether it is age per se or the correlates of age (job tenure, length of service) which account for the commitment. To investigate the relationship between age and various indicators of commitment to work (job involvement,…

This 1979 study sought to explore the potential for semi-retirement of University of Washington staff ages fifty-six and over and persons retired from the University during the prior five years. The study focused on the attitudes, interests and work-related characteristics, and behavior of workers as they approach the transition to retirement.…