To meet the demographic changes, organizations are challenged to develop practices that retain older workers and encourage them to postpone retirement. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of human resources (HR) practices in retirement preferences of older workers. Drawing on theories on lifespan development and social exchange, we suggest that organizations can facilitate longer working lives by implementing bundles of HR practices that are sensitive to age-related changes in workers’ skills, preferences, and goals – i.e., age-diversity practices. We posit that age-diversity practices are positively related to work engagement that, in turn, relates to the preference for retiring later. We further suggest that work ability moderates the relationship between age-diversity practices and work engagement. Finally, we propose a moderated mediation model in which the mediated relationship is moderated by work ability. A sample of 232 older Portuguese workers completed a questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings show that work engagement completely mediates the relationship between age-diversity practices and the preference for early or late retirement. Moreover, this mediating relationship is more important for those workers who experience low work ability. Results further demonstrate that the effect of age-diversity practices on the preference for retiring later via work engagement is stronger for lower levels of work ability. This study highlights the organizational role in promoting longer and healthier working lives through the implementation of age-supportive HR practices.

An aging population and an increasingly age-diverse workforce exemplify the complex challenge that age represents for most managers today. For that reason, research has shown the importance of designing and implementing human resources (HR) practices that meet age-related differences in workers’ motives and needs. Drawing on signaling and social exchange theories, the current study investigated a first stage moderated parallel multiple mediation model. We examined the mediating roles of work engagement and affective commitment in the relationship between age-diversity practices and turnover intention, as well as the moderating role of work centrality in these mediated relationships. Using a sample of 802 Portuguese workers, the study supported the parallel multiple mediation hypotheses. Further, the findings revealed that work centrality moderated the relationship between age-diversity practices and turnover intention via work engagement, but not via affective commitment. Age-diversity practices may motivate those workers who place less importance on work to be more engaged, which, in turn, reduces their intentions to leave the organization. Moreover, all workers, regardless of the importance that work plays in their life, are more emotionally attached to the organization and more willing to stay when there are age-diversity practices. Thus, to retain a healthy and productive age-diverse workforce, organizations should implement age-diversity practices. Empirical and practical implications are discussed.

Purpose Being a professional truck driver implies prolonged exposure to physical and psychosocial risks, which can affect health and work ability in the short and long term. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of working conditions in truck drivers’ perceived health and retirement intentions in a Portuguese transportation company. Design/methodology/approach Using ergonomic work analysis (EWA), this study incorporates document analysis, observation and 16 interviews. Content analysis is applied to interviews’ transcripts. Findings In line with previous research, drivers acknowledged their activity as physically demanding (e.g. static postures, repetitive movements, heavy lifting) and psychologically demanding (e.g. high time pressure, lack of control, lack of work–family balance). Despite that, drivers report themselves to be in good health, with only some complaints related to back and knee pain. However, hard working conditions associated with ageing can contribute to gradual health deterioration, leading them to desire to retire before the legal retirement age. Practical implications The company can promote drivers’ health by creating a unit to provide psychosocial support and career orientation, improving the mentoring programme, and investing in training on occupational risk prevention. Originality/value This study is the first to use EWA to examine the impact of the complex relationship between truck drivers’ work and health in their retirement intentions, adopting a temporal perspective.

Introduction: Time-motion analysis should be an integral part of the coaching process in competitive surf to help design training programs, as well as maximize athlete performance. There are a few studies that analyzed the timemotion of surfer activities during competition. Thus, the aim of this study was evaluate each activity's time made by surfers during the heat competition, in order to account for the time spent in each surf activity.

The European Journal of Management Studies is a publication of ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa. The mission of EJMS is to significantly influence the domain of management studies by publishing innovative research articles. EJMS aspires to provide a platform for thought leadership and outreach.