J.S.E. Dikkers

Older workers motivation to continue to work: five meanings of age: A conceptual review

Purpose: Little is known about the motivation for older workers to work and to remain active in the labor market. Research on age and motivation is limited and, moreover, conceptually diverse. In this study, we address age-related factors that influence the work motivation of older workers. More specifically, we examine how various conceptualizations of the age factor affect the direction and termination of the motivation to continue to work of older workers. Methodology: A literature review of age-related factors and motivation to continue to work. Findings: Results from 24 empirical and 9 conceptual studies indicate that most age-related factors can have a negative impact on the motivation to continue to work of older people. These findings suggest that age-related factors are important in understanding older workers’ motivation to continue to work and that further research is needed to more fully understand the underlying processes that govern how these age-related factors influence the motivation to continue to work. Research limitations / implications: Based on the aforementioned findings, we were able to formulate a research agenda for future research, namely: 1) a need for a meta-analysis on age and motivation to determine the actual effect sizes, 2) additional theoretical attention to the underlying age-related processes, 3) more psychometric studies examining the operationalization and measurement of the age-related variables, and 4) additional empirical research on age-related variables and motivation. Practical implications: Age-related factors identified in this study, such as declining health and career plateaus, should be addressed by HRM policies. HRM practices that could motivate older workers to continue to work include ergonomic adjustments and continuous career development. Originality / value of paper: Research on age and motivation is limited and conceptually diverse. This paper is one of the first studies to explore the relations between different conceptualizations of age and motivation.

Work-home interaction from a work psychological perspective: Development and validation of a new questionnaire, the SWING

Abstract This paper reports on the stepwise development of a new questionnaire for measuring work-home interaction, i.e. the Survey Work-home Interaction—NijmeGen, the SWING). Inspired by insights from work psychology, more specifically from Effort-Recovery Theory (Meijman & Mulder, 1998), we defined work-home interaction by differentiating between the direction and quality of influence. Four types of work-home interaction were distinguished and measured by using 22 (including 13 self-developed) items. By using data from five independent samples (total N=2472), validity evidence was provided based on the internal structure of the questionnaire. The results showed that the questionnaire reliably measured four empirically distinct types of work-home interaction, and that this four-dimensional structure was largely invariant across the five samples as well as across relevant subgroups. Validity evidence was also provided based on the relations with external (theoretically relevant) variables (i.e. job characteristics, home characteristics, and indicators of health and well-being). The results generally supported the hypothesized relationships of these external variables with negative work-home interaction. Less support was found, however, for the hypothesized relationships with positive work-home interaction. This contributes to current literature as it employs a relatively broad conceptualization of work-home interaction and offers a promising tool that measures its multiple components across a wide variety of workers.

How the impact of HR practices on employee well-being and performance changes with age

With changing retirement ages and an aging workforce, interest is growing on the potential contribution of relevant bundles of HR practices in eliciting well-being and performance among aging workers. Drawing on theories on lifespan development and self-regulation, we distinguished two bundles of HR practices: development HR practices that help individual workers reach higher levels of functioning (e.g. training), and maintenance HR practices that help individual workers maintain their current levels of functioning in the face of new challenges (e.g. performance appraisal). Further, based on lifespan theories, we expected and found that the association between development HR practices and well-being (i.e. job satisfaction, organisational commitment and organisational fairness) weakens, and that the associations between maintenance HR practices and well-being, and between development HR practices and employee performance, strengthen with age. In addition, a third bundle of ‘job enrichment’ HR practices emerged that elicited higher job performance among aging workers.

Dimensions of work-home culture and their relations with the use of work-home arrangements and work-home interaction

Abstract This study examined the associations of work–home culture with (a) demographic and organizational characteristics, (b) the use of work–home arrangements, and (c) negative and positive work–home interaction, among 1,179 employees from one public and two private organizations. Substantial support was found for a 2-factor structure of a work–home culture measure differentiating between “support” (employees’ perceptions of organizations, supervisors’, and colleagues’ responsiveness to work–family issues and to the use of work–home arrangements) and “hindrance” (employees’ perceptions of career consequences and time demands that may prevent them from using work–home arrangements). This 2-factor structure appeared to be invariant across organizations, gender, and parental status. Significant relationships with organizational characteristics, the use of work–home arrangements, and work–home interaction supported the validity of these two cultural dimensions. It is concluded that if employers want to minimize work–home interference, to optimize positive work–home interaction, and to boost the use of work–home arrangements, they should create a work–home culture that is characterized by high support and low hindrance.

Relations among work-home culture, the utilization of work-home arrangements, and work-home interference

In the present study, we examined the associations among work-home culture (WHC), the utilization of work-home arrangements (WHAs), and work-home interference (WHI) among 638 workers from a Dutch financial consultancy firm. We (a) developed a typology of WHC, (b) examined whether the utilization of 6 WHAs differed for various types of WHC, (c) determined whether various types of WHC and the utilization of WHAs were related to WHI, and (d) studied these associations for subgroups of workers. Results showed that WHCs can be characterized by 2 dimensions, i.e., support and hindrance. More supportive and less hindering WHCs were not associated with a higher utilization of WHAs, but did covary with lower levels of WHI.

Proactivity, job characteristics, and engagement: a longitudinal study

Purpose – This paper sets out to examine proactive personality in relation to job demands, job resources and engagement.Design/methodology/approach – The current study employed a two‐wave complete panel study among 794 Dutch government employees. Based upon the Job Demands‐Resources (JD‐R) model, previous studies, job crafting theories, and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, hypotheses on the associations of proactive personality with job demands, resources, and engagement were developed.Findings – Analyses revealed that proactive personality was associated with an increase in engagement 18 months later. Moreover, proactive employees perceiving high social support reported the highest levels of engagement over time.Research limitations/implications – A first shortcoming is that proactive personality was only measured at one point in time, which restricted the testing of causal relationships of proactive personality with engagement. Second, this study only measured engagement as outcome measure and th...

Managing aging workers: a mixed methods study on bundles of HR practices for aging workers

Since abilities and motives change with age and common human resource (HR) practices might be less suitable for aging employees, scholars and practitioners are currently challenged to find new ways of managing aging workers and motivating them to continue working. Therefore, this mixed methods study builds on literature on lifespan development and literature on HR practices in proposing four new bundles of HR practices for aging workers: accommodative, maintenance, utilization and development HR bundles. Since we draw on separate bodies of literature to propose new constructs, we use a mixed methods design in order to triangulate our findings. The proposed HR bundles were explored with a qualitative interview study among HR managers, line managers and employees in the Dutch construction sector, and tested with a quantitative survey study among Dutch government workers. Both studies confirmed that HR practices for aging workers can be classified into accommodative, maintenance, utilization and development HR bundles of practices.

Beyond chronological age: Examining perceived future time and subjective health as age-related mediators in relation to work-related motivations and well-being

Since workforces across the world are aging, researchers and organizations need more insight into how and why occupational well-being, together with work-related attitudes and motivations, change with age. Lifespan theories point to subjective health and future time perspective (i.e. an individuals perceptions of his or her remaining time to live) as potentially relevant age-related variables. Using two Dutch samples, a health care company (N=448) and university employees (N=1271), we examined whether subjective health and future time, perceived as open-ended or limited, mediate the relation between age and work-related motivations (growth, security, esteem and generativity), and whether those motivations in turn influence work engagement. In line with lifespan theories, the study demonstrated that the relations of chronological age with work-related growth, esteem and security motivations were mediated by an open-ended future time perspective and a good subjective general health. The association between age and generativity motivations was not mediated by a limited future time perspective. Furthermore, growth, esteem and generativity motivations had a positive association with work engagement. These findings imply that the future time perspective and subjective health of older workers should be taken into account, and not just chronological age, when examining or managing their occupational well-being.

What about time? : Examining chronological and subjective age and their relation to work motivation.

Purpose The aging workforce is becoming an increasingly important topic in today’s labor market. However, most scientific research and organizational policies focus on chronological age as the main determinant of successful aging. Based on life span developmental theories – primarily socioemotional selectivity theory and motivational theory of life span development – the purpose of this paper is to test the added value of using subjective age – in terms of remaining opportunities and remaining time – over and above chronological age in their associations with motivation at work and motivation to work. Design/methodology/approach Workers from five different divisions throughout the Netherlands (n=186) from a taxi company participated in the survey study. Findings The results from the regression analyses and structural equation modeling analyses support the hypotheses: when subjective age was included in the models, chronological age was virtually unrelated to workers’ intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and motivation to continue to work for one’s organization. Moreover, subjective age was strongly related to work motivation. Specifically, workers who perceived many remaining opportunities were more intrinsically and extrinsically motivated, and those who perceived a lot of remaining time were more motivated across the board. Originality/value The findings indicate that subjective age is an important concept to include in studies focussing on successful aging, thereby contributing to life span developmental theories. Further implications for research and practice are discussed.

Causes and Consequences of the Utilization of Work-Life Policies by Professionals: “Unconditional Supervisor Support Required”

The European workplace has changed. Employees increasingly ask for organizational policies that allow them to combine their work and their private lives (Lewis et al., 2009). In the Netherlands it is estimated that no less than 40% of employees face troubles in combining their work and private lives (Geurts et al., 2003), which brings high costs, both for individuals and for organizations (Allen et al., 2000).