Among organizational researchers there has been a recent trend toward the development of contemporary theoretical perspectives on issues relating to age in the workplace (e.g., Adams & Shultz, 2007). Driving this push toward fresh and expanded approaches to considering age are issues such as the aging population of Baby Boomers, a predicted decrease in the talent pool, and recent and projected future economic conditions that will likely put new pressure on older individuals to remain employed for longer time periods than they had planned. These issues have broad implications for the study of organizational behavior, ranging from recruitment through retention, and focusing on such central concerns to the field as motivation, engagement, climate, employee development, occupational health, and performance.
We consider a contemporary approach to the study of age to be one that builds on, integrates, and/or synthesizes our accumulated knowledge regarding aging at work, or one that develops a new theoretical perspective. Modern approaches should consider how our traditional models of organizational behavior, at an individual or organizational level, might be modified or expanded to account for the changing age composition of the workforce. Moreover, research need not necessarily approach age issues at work, or the aging process for that matter, as a problem to be dealt with; rather, it should consider the possibility that sometimes with age may come advantages to the individual and the organization, particularly when strategies for successful aging are in place.
We are pleased to present a collection of nine empirical papers that are united through their contemporary theoretical grounding, yet vary widely in their focus, methodology, and target populations. Taken together, they inform research and practice on issues running the gamut from the start of the employment cycle (attraction and recruitment) to the end (retirement). They add to our knowledge base by considering the important roles of both individual differences and environmental/ organizational factors in understanding work attitudes, performance, and health of individuals across the age spectrum.
Beginning with concerns of organizational entry, Nakai, Chang, Snell, and Fluckinger (2010) approach the issue of successful recruitment of workers over 40 with the proposition that older workers are not a homogeneous group that can be uniformly targeted through the same means during