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Psychosocial differences in perceived older workers’ work (un)adaptability, effectiveness and workplace age discrimination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

S. von Humboldt ,
I. Miguel ,
J. Valentim ,
A. Costa ,
G. Low  and
I. Leal
S. von Humboldt*
Affiliation:
1William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisbon
I. Miguel
Affiliation:
2Portucalense Institute of Human Development & Department of Psychology and Education, Portucalense University, Porto
J. Valentim
Affiliation:
3Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra
A. Costa
Affiliation:
4ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
G. Low
Affiliation:
5Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
I. Leal
Affiliation:
1William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisbon
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The aging population in the developed world has implied increasing age diversity in the workforce of organizations. Consequently, mutual perceptions about one’s co-workers and age discrimination is becoming increasingly important.

Objectives

This study aims to explore how perceptions about older workers’ work (un)adaptability, work effectiveness and workplace age discrimination vary according to participants’ psychosocial factors, such as age group, gender, education level and work sector.

Methods

This study included a sample of 453 workers in Portugal, diverse in terms of age, gender, education level and work sector. Four different instruments were used: (a) a sociodemographic questionnaire; (b) an older workers’ Work Adaptability scale; (c) an older workers’ Work Effectiveness Scale and; (d) the Workplace Age Discrimination Scale (WADS).

Results

Middle-aged and older participants perceive older workers as more adaptable than younger participants. The oldest group of participants perceives older workers to be more work-effective and experience the highest levels of age discrimination in the workplace, when compared to the other age groups. Also, participants with lower levels of education tend to perceive higher levels of workplace age discrimination, when compared to participants with high school and higher education.

Conclusions

Generational perceptions in the workplace are perceived by workers differently, hence organizations should implement age management strategies to address age discrimination, particularly due to the increasing proportion of older workers.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S237
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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