Purpose Research findings are ambiguous regarding the effects of age on sustainable labour participation (SLP), defined as the extent to which people are able and willing to conduct their current and future work. The purpose of this paper is to contribute by examining age effects on SLP by focusing on the moderating role of workload. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method study was conducted in 2018. First, a survey was distributed among a sample of 2,149 employees of the Dutch central government. Second, 12 interviews with public sector employees took place to gain greater insight into the quantitative data collected. Findings Three components that reflect an employee’s SLP were studied: vitality, work ability and employability. The quantitative results, in general, showed that SLP decreased with ageing. However, in contrast to the hypothesis, the results showed a significant positive relationship between age and energy. Moreover, relationships between an employee’s age and certain aspects of their SLP were moderated by workload. The interviews helped to interpret these results. Practical implications The findings demonstrate that some of the older worker stereotypes are unfounded, and the important practical implications of these are discussed. Originality/value Earlier research has produced conflicting findings regarding the relationship between age and (aspects of) SLP. By investigating several aspects of SLP in separate regressions within this research, the specific influences of age have become clearer. Furthermore, the research provides fresh insights into the relationship between age and SLP by including moderating effects of workload.

This article examines the relationship between the valence of formal learning (perceived usefulness of the outcomes of formal learning for daily work and ambitions) and the employability‐related competences of public sector employees. Furthermore, the moderating roles of social informal learning and transformational leadership (TFL) are investigated. We conducted hierarchical linear regression analyses, using secondary cross‐sectional data from Dutch public service employees (n = 8858). The results show that the valence of formal learning increases employees’ employability competences. Additionally, TFL strengthens this relationship for two of the employability competences. However, TFL also negatively moderated the relation between valence and one of the employability competences. Social informal learning was found not to have a moderating effect but to directly contribute to the development of employability competences. The results question the predominant focus in research on participating in formal learning to increase employability competences and adds new insights by introducing the valence of formal learning to the employability literature. Some implications for future research are given related to the limitations of this article, such as the use of cross‐sectional data. The findings show the relevance of formal learning with high valence for boosting employability. Therefore, employers should encourage formal learning and employees should carefully consider its expected valence. Furthermore, the results show that employers should enhance transformational leadership styles and stimulate employees to learn informally. This study provides further evidence for the relationship between formal learning and employability competences by considering the valence of formal learning rather than focusing on whether or not someone has participated in formal learning. Furthermore, it extends previous employability research by considering the moderating roles of social informal learning and of TFL.