On the basis of a review of 22 years of articles published in 46 behavioral science journals, we found a total of 96 independent studies that reported age-performance correlations. Total sample size was 38,983 and represented a broad cross-section of jobs and age groups. Meta-analysis procedures revealed that age and job performance generally were unrelated. Furthermore, there was little evidence that the type of performance measure (ratings vs. productivity measures) or type of job (professional vs. nonprofessional) moderated the relation between age and performance significantly. However, for very young employees the relation between age and job performance was consistent and modestly positive. Implications of these results for future research are discussed.Two related trends and one new piece of legislation will play increasingly important roles in determining how human resources are managed in the United States. The first trend is that of an aging work force; in the years between 1985 and 2000, the number of workers between the ages of 45 and 65 will grow 41% whereas the number in the 16-to 35-years age group will decline slightly (Johnston, 1987). The second trend is an increasingly litigious tendency among older workers. It is well documented that the number of discrimination lawsuits filed under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 has risen dramatically in recent years; 17,000 such cases were pending at the federal level at the end of 1987 (EEOC, 1987). This increase in litigation is likely to accelerate in light of new legislation: In 1986, Congress passed a landmark bill that effectively outlawed mandatory retirement ("Age," 1986). This was accomplished by removing the upper age limit of 70 for persons covered under the ADEA. The elimination of mandatory retirement "means that the spectrum of potential plaintiffs in age-discrimination cases is greatly expanded" (Cahan, 1986, p. 31).Defendants in age discrimination lawsuits often cite age-related performance decrements as justification for the imposition of upper age limits in hiring and retention decisions (i.e., defendants argue that age is a "bona fide occupational qualification"). This argument is supported by a widespread belief that job performance declines with increasing age (Cascio, 1986;Rhodes, 1983), a belief that has endured without support for more than 30 years:The belief is widespread that work performance declines as age in-We would like to thank Susan Stahl for assistance in data collection and Robert Guion for helpful comments on the manuscript. We would also like to thank Peter Bryant of the University of Colorado at Denver for deriving the formula used in Appendix B.

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This study investigated the relative effectiveness of realistic job previews (RJPs) and job enrichment as turnover reduction strategies. A thorough literature search located 20 experiments (N = 6,492) dealing with attempts to reduce turnover in field settings. Several meta-analysis techniques were applied to these experimental studies. Results indicate that variation in the outcomes of job enrichment studies can be attributed to sampling error alone, whereas variation in the outcomes of RJP studies cannot. A search for moderators in the latter case revealed moderate support for the notion that task complexity affects RJP outcomes. Furthermore, the meta-analyses indicate that job enrichment interventions are about twice as effective at reducing turnover as RJPs, the former yielding an average phi coefficient of .17 and an approximate effect size (d) of .35. Based on the calculated effect sizes, estimates of savings from turnover reductions are provided.