Please Don’t Look at Me That Way. An Empirical Study Into the Effects of Age-Based (Meta-)Stereotyping on Employability Enhancement Among Older Supermarket Workers

Abstract

At present, individuals increasingly have to take ownership of their working lives. This situation requires them to self-manage and plan their careers. However, individuals’ career management does not happen in a vacuum. Studies have therefore stressed the importance of organizations introducing Sustainable Human Resource Management to share the responsibility for individuals’ employability. This is expected to motivate especially disadvantaged workers, such as older workers (≥ 50 years) and those working in lower-skilled jobs, to work longer across the life-span. In view of the growing scholarly and societal attention for Sustainable Career Development (SCD), the present study examines the relationships between workers’ chronological age (comparing older workers with younger and middle-aged groups, respectively) and dimensions of self-reported employability, and how perceptions of negative (meta-)stereotyping regarding older workers’ productivity, reliability, and personal adaptability moderate these relationships. To examine how possible underlying psychological mechanisms can affect individuals’ labor market decisions and behaviors, we developed hypotheses derived from socio-emotional selectivity and self-categorization theory, which we tested using data collected among supermarket workers in various age groups ( N = 98). Moderated regression analyses showed that, in line with our hypotheses, perceptions of negative age-based (meta-)stereotyping amplifies the negative effect of older workers’ age on their self-perceived employability. In particular, we found that: (1) the older worker group reported lower levels of three of the distinguished employability dimensions (i.e., anticipation and optimization, corporate sense, and balance, but not occupational expertise and personal flexibility) and (2) perceptions of stronger negative (meta-)stereotypes regarding older workers in the organization had a moderating effect on the relationship between age group and four of the distinguished employability dimensions (i.e., occupational expertise, anticipation and optimization, corporate sense, and balance, but not personal flexibility). We conclude that age group membership as well as negative age-based (meta-)stereotypes deter older workers from enhancing their employability, which may potentially impact their career decisions and opportunities, especially in view of swift changing labor market demands. We argue, therefore, that Sustainable HR practices should focus on opposing negative age-based (meta-)stereotyping and on creating an inclusive work climate, meanwhile enhancing workers’ ambitions and career opportunities over the life cycle.

O cenário do mercado de trabalho para idosos e a violência sofrida

“…Além disso, vê-se que as ações dos gestores são inclinadas à estereotipagem negativa baseada na idade, que considera o idoso um ser improdutivo e incapacitado. Essa estereotipagem prejudica os idosos em termos de oportunidades de emprego e também de se manterem no trabalho 25 .…”

“…Peters, et al 25 Austrália A estereotipagem negativa do envelhecer no mercado de trabalho compromete a permanência e/ou retorno do idoso pro trabalho. Dessa forma julga-se importante que o departamento de recursos humanos se concentre em questões relativas aos estereótipos do envelhecimento.…”

Sustainable Employability in the Mid and Late Career: An Integrative Review

“…Research on sustainable employment and sustainable employability (hereinafter, SE) is salient as it bears major implications on multiple counts: career continuity of older workers (e.g., Koolhaas et al, 2015;Le Blanc et al, 2017), their well-being and occupational health (e.g., Tonnon et al, 2017;van Gorp et al, 2018), organizational demography and talent retention (e.g., Peters et al, 2019), and society as a whole (e.g., . Of course, the SE concept applies to any working career stage (Fleuren et al, 2020;.…”

“…The relationship between age and self-rated employability was also a key focus of the research conducted by Peters et al (2019) on a sample of supermarket workers. This study was aimed to explore the moderating role of perceived negative age-based (meta-)stereotyping in the relationship between workers' age and employability.…”

Menopause and Sustainable Career Outcomes: A Science Mapping Approach

“…Obviously, more knowledge on the impact of menopause on sustainable career outcomes may guide management and HRM practitioners in dealing with both negative and positive experiences women, and their surrounding stakeholders, face when going through menopause. Hopefully, more insight into the phenomenon will also help to combat (meta)stereotyping (e.g., [ 83 ]) around menopause, to facilitate the career sustainability of women in the second half of their career. From a sustainable career perspective, organizational interventions need to address employees’ current health, happiness and productivity (being the core indicators of sustainable careers) while taking into account their future health, happiness and productivity (see also [ 84 ]).…”