Perceptions of Older Versus Younger Workers in Terms of Big Five Facets, Proactive Personality, Cognitive Ability, and Job Performance

Abstract

We examined whether older and younger workers are perceived differently in terms of job‐related individual differences and dimensions of job performance. Findings across 2 experimental studies indicated that older workers were perceived more positively in terms of crystallized intelligence and facets of conscientiousness, while younger workers were perceived more positively in terms of fluid intelligence and proactive personality. With regard to work performance, older workers were perceived more positively in terms of organizational citizenship behavior directed toward the organization. Similar perceptions were held by older and younger respondents. Results illustrate that job performance dimensions and work‐related individual differences may provide useful frameworks for understanding stereotypes regarding older and younger workers.

Supporting the Aging Workforce: A Review and Recommendations for Workplace Intervention Research

“…For example, more recent replications of Rosen & Jerdee's (1976a,b) studies demonstrated that older and younger workers are rated similarly in terms of suitability for hiring, training, and promotion (Weiss & Maurer 2004). Other studies in both the United States and Italy have found that older workers are perceived as more conscientious and less neurotic than their younger counterparts (Bertolino et al 2013, Truxillo et al 2012b). Finally, a meta-analysis by Bal et al (2011) demonstrated that although older workers have more negative organizational decisions made about them (e.g., hiring) compared to younger workers, there are positive stereotypes associated with older workers, such as increased reliability.…”

Análise da proatividade da enfermagem em um hospital universitário público

“…In this regard, a study showed that younger professionals were perceived more positively in terms of proactive personality, citing a possible relationship with the stereotype that older professionals have less energy for work. (24) In a survey with nurses from a North Carolina hospital in the United States of America, age (β=0.01, p=0.04) and working time (β=0.01, p=0.05) in the sector showed a significant association with the proactive behavior at work, explaining 27.5% of the variance in proactivity. (11) In a university hospital in Singapore, experienced nurses exhibited greater prioritization of activities and anticipation of needs, collaborating with the staff, which is characteristic of proactivity.…”

Managing multi-generation employees at work: understanding inter-generational employee differences with big-five models and their effects on job stress

“…who are strong in conscientiousness tend to be goal-directed, strong-willed, and determined. They also tend to be more thorough and reliable (Costa & McRae, 1992b, in Truxillo et al, 2012. Aspects in the conscientiousness dimension include self-efficacy, regularity, perseverance, struggle for results, and discipline (Goldberg et al, 2006).…”

“…The results of a study from Truxillo et al (2012) concluded that young generation employees have a higher level of openness to experience than the older generation, especially scores on dimensions of imagination, emotionality, adventurousness, and liberalism. We have therefore suggest the following hypothesis.…”

“…A failure to overcome these differences can lead to workplace conflicts, misunderstandings, and make employee productivity suffer (Smola & Sutton, 2002;Yu & Miller, 2003). Truxillo, McCune, Bertolino, & Fraccalori (2012) also highlight several important reasons for understanding the differences in the nature of employees that exist between generations: (1) the increasing number of employees from generation X and generation Y that begins to enter the workplace; (2) various research results show there are groups of employees based on generation at work (e.g. Smola & Sutton, 2002;Twenge & Campbell, 2008, Wong, Gardiner, Lang, & Coulon, 2008Lyons &Kuron, 2014); (3) possible differences such as individual differences in different generations have not been tested empirically.…”