It is estimated that by 2020, 25% of the US labor force will be aged 55 or older. Along with this demographic shift, Americans and employees in other industrialized nations are now working longer than before, either out of preference or financial necessity. Therefore, it is essential that we understand how to support employees so that they can continue working in a healthy, happy, and productive manner as they age. The construct of work ability (the extent to which people perceive they can meet the mental and physical demands of their jobs) has the potential to guide research and practice on how best to support employees throughout the lifespan. However, though studied extensively in the occupational health literature, work ability has only recently gained attention in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Occupational Health Psychology literatures. This study helps to further integrate work ability into our field and theoretically ground the construct using the Job Demands-Resources model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). Specifically, this study examined psychosocial characteristics of the work environment (age diversity climate, team cohesion, organizational justice, and leader-member exchange) that were expected to buffer against the negative effects of increased age and poor health on work ability. The interaction between team cohesion and poor health had a significant effect on work ability. While the other hypothesized interaction relationships were unsupported, ancillary analyses showed that both team cohesion and age diversity climate do relate positively to work ability, even after controlling for age and health. These findings highlight the importance of a positive social work environment in supporting employees' work ability throughout the lifespan. Suggestions for future research include examining additional psychosocial predictors and behavioral outcomes of work ability, as well as conducting intervention studies aimed at increasing work ability by improving social aspects of the work environment.

As the workforce ages, enabling individuals to work effectively across the lifespan is critical for individuals, organizations, and societies. Put simply, societies and organizations are beginning to face a "new normal" in which people must continue working later in life. Investigations of work ability (WA), an individual's ability to meet the demands of their job, is a line of research that facilitates our understanding of the factors related to working successfully across the lifespan. Although research has established that WA is influenced by a range of organizational and personal factors and linked WA to retirement and disability, a number of gaps and underlying conceptual issues have limited the value of the WA research to the organizational sciences. Through a series of three studies -- a meta-analysis (Study 1a) with k = 247 studies and N = 312,987 individuals, a supplemental online data collection (Study 1b), a nurse sample (Study 2), and a healthcare sample (Study 3) -- this dissertation draws on the JD-R model to move the WA literature forward and advance WA theory within the organizational science literature. Study 1 provides a quantitative synthesis of the WA literature, establishes its nomological network, and provides a straightforward conceptual definition of WA. This synthesis provides a roadmap for researchers and practitioners by highlighting leverage points to promote WA across the lifespan. Second, these studies answer lingering questions regarding the concept of WA. In doing so, these studies provide a clear conceptual distinction between WA as measured by the Work Ability Index (WAI), which includes health-based questions, and measures of perceived WA (PWA), which are perceptions of WA as rated by individual. PWA measures performed similarly to the WAI in the vast majority of analyses, lending substantial support to the use of relatively simple PWA measures. Third, Study 1 and Study 2 provide evidence that PWA explains unique variance in organizational (e.g., engagement, burnout) and personal (e.g., disability intentions, health) correlates above and beyond the established constructs of perceived fit, general self-efficacy, and job self-efficacy. Fourth, Study 2 identified age discrimination as an important yet understudied antecedent of WA and showed that PWA can serve as a mediator between age discrimination and negative outcomes (e.g., lower life satisfaction and task performance). Finally, Study 3 showed that PWA is related to supervisor ratings of task and creative performance. Taken together, these three studies situate WA within the organizational literature and provide substantial evidence of the value of WA for meeting the challenges of an aging and age-diverse workforce.

In recent years much has been made of active and productive ageing policies, with the attempt to promote a more positive image of ageing. Despite this, negative representations of ageing and conceptualisations of older people as a ‘burden’ persist. This thesis presents an argument that these negative images are intertwined with common understandings of work, the frequent equating of this to paid employment within the field of social gerontology, and the reliance upon cessation of work in determining the beginning of old age. With reference to the wider literature in the sociology of work, an argument is presented that determines why it is essential to challenge those taken-for-granted assumptions about older people and work. Reflecting upon the findings from an exploratory and qualitative research project, which focuses upon the perspective of the older people themselves, attention is given to the detail of what should be encapsulated into new understandings of work. Within the thesis it is argued that there are many activities undertaken by the older person, which should be thought of as work, including (but not limited to) paid employment, volunteering, care, attendance at social clubs, undertaking sport and physical activity. Some of these activities might more intuitively be thought of as acts of leisure. However, it is evidenced within this thesis that there are fuzzy and blurred boundaries between leisure and work - older people leisure at work and work at leisure. The recognition of these blurring boundaries is one aspect that must be incorporated into re-conceptualisations of work. The thesis demonstrates how the work of older people transcends different socio-economic spheres and there are multiple interrelations existing between different activities. Whilst this last point resonates with the approach of some authors in the sociology of work, they have never been incorporated within the field of social gerontology. Through this analysis, and promoting a new way through which the activities of older people might be incorporated within the rubric of work, it is hoped that ageism might be challenged in a similar vein to the way in which feminist researchers once challenged sexism in relation to work and housework. This thesis reflects upon how we need to identify and conceptualise the third age in light of the findings. It highlights how the working lives of older people are shaped through a process of negotiation between social expectations within current political and economic contexts, influences from key historical events and social changes, and the desire for freedom, autonomy and choice. Age period cohort is crucial in determining the world of work, and more generally how ageing might be experienced. Through its unique approach, and the lessons learnt within this thesis, a theoretical framework is provided to assist in future comprehensive studies of both work and ageing. Overall, this thesis makes significant contributions to understandings of work and ageing following the consideration of two schools of thought (i.e. sociology of work and social gerontology), which previously have been infrequent companions.

CAPES / O crescimento demográfico da população de idosos vem aumentando cada vez mais no Brasil e em vários países do mundo. Consequentemente as empresas serão um dos setores mais afetados por este crescimento no Brasil, uma vez que terão que recolocar ou manter estes funcionários trabalhando por mais alguns anos. Este fato aliado a bons programas de Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho (QVT) e ao Potencial Motivador do Trabalho (PMT) pode ser uma perspectiva positiva para manter este trabalhador no mercado de trabalho por mais alguns anos. Neste contexto, o objetivo primordial deste trabalho foi mensurar dentre os oito critérios da QVT estipulado por Walton, o qual pode interferir na tomada de decisão do trabalhador idoso em permanecer trabalhando após a aposentadoria. A abordagem metodológica consistiu em uma análise de conteúdo e em uma pesquisa descritiva exploratória. A análise dos dados baseou-se na análise estatística descritiva e em uma pesquisa quantitativa. Os resultados propostos a partir dos apontamentos feitos em relação ao Recurso Humano (RH) vai permitir aos gestores ter uma visão geral do nível de entendimento e comprometimento das pessoas idosas no contexto empresarial. A conclusão indica que 72,22% dos trabalhadores idosos que estão no processo de aposentadoria pretendem continuar trabalhando após sua reforma, muito mais para se sentirem atuantes, independentes e úteis na sociedade. Entretanto, o fator da QVT mencionados por eles que deveria ser melhorado para que se sintam mais seguros e incentivados a trabalhar com mais prazer, seria a remuneração adequada, a qual lhes traria mais tranquilidade futura e maior realização profissional e pessoal. Contudo, torna-se importante que as empresas comecem a refletir sobre a formação e reciclagem para reforçar a empregabilidade dos trabalhadores idosos permitindo a sua recolocação ou permanência no mercado de trabalho por mais alguns anos. / The population growth of the elderly population is increasing more and more in Brazil and in several countries worldwide. Consequently businesses will be one of the sectors most affected by this growth in Brazil, since they will have to replace or keep these employees working for a few more years. This fact coupled with good programs Quality of Work Life (QWL) and Motivating Potencial Score can be a positive outlook to keep this worker on the job market for a few more years. In this context, the primary objective of this study was to measure among the eight criteria stipulated by Walton's QWL, which can interfere in the decision of elderly workers to remain working after retirement. The methodological approach consisted of a content analysis and a descriptive exploratory. Data analysis was based on descriptive statistics and quantitative research. The results from the proposed notes made in relation to the Human Resource (HR) will enable managers to have an overview of the level of understanding and commitment of older people in a business context. The conclusion indicates that 72.22% of elderly workers who are in the process of retirement plan to continue working after their retirement, to feel more active, independent and useful in society. However, the factor's QWL mentioned that they should be improved to make them feel safer and encouraged to work with more pleasure, would be the appropriate return, which would bring more peace and greater future professional and personal fulfillment. However, it is important that companies start to reflect on the training and retraining to enhance the employability of older workers allowing its replacement or stay in the labor market for some years.

CAPES / O crescimento demográfico da população de idosos vem aumentando cada vez mais no Brasil e em vários países do mundo. Consequentemente as empresas serão um dos setores mais afetados por este crescimento no Brasil, uma vez que terão que recolocar ou manter estes funcionários trabalhando por mais alguns anos. Este fato aliado a bons programas de Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho (QVT) e ao Potencial Motivador do Trabalho (PMT) pode ser uma perspectiva positiva para manter este trabalhador no mercado de trabalho por mais alguns anos. Neste contexto, o objetivo primordial deste trabalho foi mensurar dentre os oito critérios da QVT estipulado por Walton, o qual pode interferir na tomada de decisão do trabalhador idoso em permanecer trabalhando após a aposentadoria. A abordagem metodológica consistiu em uma análise de conteúdo e em uma pesquisa descritiva exploratória. A análise dos dados baseou-se na análise estatística descritiva e em uma pesquisa quantitativa. Os resultados propostos a partir dos apontamentos feitos em relação ao Recurso Humano (RH) vai permitir aos gestores ter uma visão geral do nível de entendimento e comprometimento das pessoas idosas no contexto empresarial. A conclusão indica que 72,22% dos trabalhadores idosos que estão no processo de aposentadoria pretendem continuar trabalhando após sua reforma, muito mais para se sentirem atuantes, independentes e úteis na sociedade. Entretanto, o fator da QVT mencionados por eles que deveria ser melhorado para que se sintam mais seguros e incentivados a trabalhar com mais prazer, seria a remuneração adequada, a qual lhes traria mais tranquilidade futura e maior realização profissional e pessoal. Contudo, torna-se importante que as empresas comecem a refletir sobre a formação e reciclagem para reforçar a empregabilidade dos trabalhadores idosos permitindo a sua recolocação ou permanência no mercado de trabalho por mais alguns anos. / The population growth of the elderly population is increasing more and more in Brazil and in several countries worldwide. Consequently businesses will be one of the sectors most affected by this growth in Brazil, since they will have to replace or keep these employees working for a few more years. This fact coupled with good programs Quality of Work Life (QWL) and Motivating Potencial Score can be a positive outlook to keep this worker on the job market for a few more years. In this context, the primary objective of this study was to measure among the eight criteria stipulated by Walton's QWL, which can interfere in the decision of elderly workers to remain working after retirement. The methodological approach consisted of a content analysis and a descriptive exploratory. Data analysis was based on descriptive statistics and quantitative research. The results from the proposed notes made in relation to the Human Resource (HR) will enable managers to have an overview of the level of understanding and commitment of older people in a business context. The conclusion indicates that 72.22% of elderly workers who are in the process of retirement plan to continue working after their retirement, to feel more active, independent and useful in society. However, the factor's QWL mentioned that they should be improved to make them feel safer and encouraged to work with more pleasure, would be the appropriate return, which would bring more peace and greater future professional and personal fulfillment. However, it is important that companies start to reflect on the training and retraining to enhance the employability of older workers allowing its replacement or stay in the labor market for some years.

The influence of demographic factors, work schedule flexibility, job satisfaction, job involvement, job seeking self-efficacy, certainty of retirement plans, familial and marital satisfaction, and attitude toward retirement on older workers' decision to fully retire, continue career employment, or participate in bridge employment was examined in this study.

The workforce in most industrialized countries is aging and becoming more age diverse, but few studies have examined the implications of age differences in the design of jobs. This study examined the role of age as a moderator in the relationship between job characteristics and two individual outcomes, job satisfaction and job tension. Specifically, the study focused on the relationship between social characteristics of the job (given social support, [received] social support, interdependence, interaction outside the organization, and feedback from others) and job tension and job satisfaction among Portland Water Bureau employees. Based in Socioemotional Selectivity (SES) theory (Carstensen, 1991), I hypothesized that these job characteristics would have a differential relationship with these outcomes for older and younger workers. Results showed that four of the eight hypothesized interactions were significant, providing support for age as a moderating variable. Differential interaction effects were demonstrated on job satisfaction and job tension. Further, this study incorporated a new conceptualization and measurement of the social support job characteristic (given social support), which demonstrated utility in predicting outcomes. Subjective age was also found to moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and job attitudes, but in a pattern similar to that found for chronological age. This study contributes to the existing literature by answering the call to examine the role of individual differences in the relationship between job design features and outcomes, and by increasing knowledge of the types of job characteristics that increase job satisfaction and reduce job tension for older and younger employees. Implications for the aging workforce are discussed along with future research to better understand the mediating mechanisms.

As a result of changing demographic trends in today's workforce, employees of all ages can now be found in all career stages. Consequently, the pairing of a younger supervisor with a relatively older employee is becoming increasingly more common. Research in the United States has shown that such demographically "non-normative" pairings have negative implications for employee attitudes and behaviors, and thus for employee performance management. However, little is known about the effects of such pairings in other nations and cultures, despite the fact that these demographic shifts are occurring on a global level. As such, this study examined the effects of these pairings on employee reactions to formal performance feedback episodes in a large organization in China, due to the nation's similarly shifting demographic trends and its economic power in today's global economy. A series of path analyses showed that being paired with a relatively younger supervisor did predict reduced employee feedback satisfaction and perceptions of feedback utility; but, contrary to the proposed model, these effects did not occur because of reduced interactional justice perceptions or reduced perceptions of leader-member exchange (LMX). Further, LMX did not moderate the study outcomes, demonstrating that having a better relationship with one's supervisor did not alleviate the effects of supervisor relative age on employee feedback reactions. The conceptual and practical implications of these results are discussed in light of a rapidly changing workforce, and of cultural differences, in China.

As the American population ages, the issues of aging and work have gradually come to the forefront. An older and increasingly diverse workforce has raised concerns over job performance, labor costs, and alternative work demands. At the same time, evidence indicates that older workers continue to experience extensive labor market problems due to false assumptions on the part of managers about the limiting effect of age on employee performance. The public sector's ability to respond to age-related issues in the workplace has largely been ignored by both public practitioners and researchers. This study addresses the questions of whether age negatively influences public personnel decisions, and if so, whether such influences adversely affect the treatment of older workers. The results of the survey indicate that public managers are susceptible to age bias when making personnel decisions.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-08-13T13:06:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Jorgemar Soares Felix.pdf: 2027961 bytes, checksum: cec74833cb26e728064be55cd48c3519 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T13:06:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jorgemar Soares Felix.pdf: 2027961 bytes, checksum: cec74833cb26e728064be55cd48c3519 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-26 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / This research aims to answer the following question: To what extend does the lowincome worker 60 years and over have the social and economic conditions to stay in the labor market or acquire new skills to reinvent himself professionally? As secondary objectives the questions were: what is the impact of urban space on the decision to remain in the labor market and, while remaining active, how does this population segment deal with the limitations imposed by the transformations of the city and suffer its consequences? The methodology used was based on the research carried out by Serge Paugam for France, called "Salarié de la precarité", which establishes types of integration according to two basic criteria: satisfaction and stability. The criteria take into account the labor conditions and the employment relationship to create the ideal type (Weberian) assured integration, in which the interviewee meets the two criteria, and types deviations, uncertain integration (satisfaction but no stability), laborious integration (no satisfaction but with stability) and disqualified integration (without the both). The sample of this research was restricted to the Jessé de Souza’s social category batalhadores (battlers), that is to say, a "new Brazilian working class" that emerged in the years 2000, but with a "personal trajectory" marked by a history of vulnerability or by an unfavorable condition in the society and / or being black-skinned. It is assumed that this segment lacks cultural, social and immaterial capital. The research is qualitative, with techniques of direct observation and in-depth interviews from a semistructured questionnaire. In the first three chapters, a theoretical reference is presented in the field of economic sociology, sociology of work and urban sociology with the objective of offering information of the reality for a confrontation of the report of the batalhadores and batalhadoras interviewed in the fourth and last chapter, when the results of empirical research are presented. The main conclusion is that it is impossible for the sample to be able to assured integration, mainly due to age. It is argued, therefore, that the types of integration must be taken into account in the public policy decisions for the elderly and the construction of the social protection structure. / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo responder à seguinte questão: Até que ponto o trabalhador de baixa renda com mais de 60 anos tem condições sociais e econômicas para se manter no mercado de trabalho ou adquirir novas qualificações para se reinventar profissionalmente? Como objetivos secundários as questões foram: qual o impacto do espaço urbano na decisão de se manter no mercado de trabalho e, em permanecendo na ativa, como esse segmento populacional lida com as limitações impostas pelas transformações da cidade e sofre suas consequências? A metodologia utilizada teve como matriz a pesquisa realizada por Serge Paugam para a França, denominada “Salarié de la precarité”, na qual estabelece tipos de integração de acordo com dois critérios básicos: satisfação e estabilidade. Os critérios levam em conta a relação de trabalho e a relação de emprego para criar o “tipo ideal” (weberiano) integração assegurada, no qual o entrevistado atende aos dois critérios, e os tipos desvios, integração incerta (com satisfação e sem estabilidade), integração laboriosa (sem satisfação e com estabilidade) e integração desqualificada (sem os dois critérios). Limitou-se a amostra dessa pesquisa à categoria batalhadores de Jessé de Souza, isto é, uma “nova classe trabalhadora brasileira” que emerge nos anos 2000, mas com uma “trajetória pessoal” marcada por um histórico de vulnerabilidade seja por uma condição desfavorável na sociedade desigual e/ou por ser de pele negra. Assume-se que esse segmento carece de capitais cultural, social e imaterial. A pesquisa é qualitativa, com técnicas de observação direta e entrevistas aprofundadas a partir de questionário semiestruturado. Nos três capítulos iniciais, apresenta-se um referencial teórico no âmbito da sociologia econômica, da sociologia do trabalho e da sociologia urbana com o objetivo de oferecer informações da realidade para um confronto do relato dos batalhadores e batalhadoras entrevistados no quarto e último capítulo, quando são apresentados os resultados da pesquisa empírica. A conclusão principal é a impossibilidade de a amostra apresentar condições de garantir uma integração assegurada sobretudo devido ao fator idade. Defende-se, assim, que os tipos de integração devem ser levados em conta nas decisões de políticas públicas para os idosos e para a construção da estrutura de proteção social