How to live with the baby boomers before considering how to live without them

(1)

How to live with the baby boomers before

considering how to live without them

Work-related factors that influence older teachers’

intentions to continue in paid employment at Noorderpoort

Master thesis, MSc, specialization Human Resource Management

University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business

FINAL VERSION, JULY 2011

RUBEN ZENHORST

Studentnumber: 1706853

Berkelstraat 51

9725 GW, Groningen

Tel.: +31(0)618463445

E-Mail: rubenzenhorst@gmail.com

Supervisor at University of Groningen

Dr. P.H. van der Meer

Field Supervisor

Drs. A. Vlaardingerbroek

(2)

ABSTRACT

Purpose – Conceptualising the notion of „older workers‟ intentions to continue in paid employment, indicating the expected impact of 8 selected work-related factors on older workers‟ intentions to continue in working and applying it to a population of older teachers (aged 50 and older).

Design/methodology/approach – Theoretical framework on the meaning of work, electronic survey (n=306) and semi-structured interview (n=17) based on self-report. All participants are older teachers of ROC Noorderpoort in Groningen.

Findings – Besides non related factors (health and finances) tested in other studies, also work-related factors are likely to be considered by older teachers at Noorderpoort in making the decision to continue working, especially perceived insider status, flexible work arrangements and perceived autonomy.

Practical implications – Addressing ageism and the challenge of retaining older workers while maintaining satisfaction levels of both employer and employees in growing shortage of labour across OECD countries.

Originality/value – Application of prior knowledge on work-life extension and retirement decisions on a large-size educational enterprise in the public sector and mapping their preferred job characteristics.

Keywords – Older workers, Retirement, Work-life extension, Job Characteristics, Teachers, Netherlands.

(3)

Work-related factors for retaining older workers 3 / 43

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION SECTION ... 4

2. THEORY SECTION ... 6

2.1 Extending working lives – A theoretical framework ... 6

2.2 Work-related factors that influence the intention of older workers to continue working ... 6

Perceived insider status ... 8

Perceived meaningfulness of contribution ... 8

Opportunities to work on challenging assignments ... 9

Perceived autonomy ... 9

Flexible working arrangements ... 9

Job development climate... 10

Age stereotyping ... 10

Perceived attitudes of supervisors ... 11

2.3 Hypotheses ... 11 3. METHOD SECTION ... 13 3.1 Procedure ... 13 3.2 Measures ... 14 3.3 Quantitative analysis ... 14 3.4 Qualitative analysis ... 15 4. RESULTS SECTION ... 17 4.1 Quantitative analysis ... 17 4.2 Qualitative analysis ... 20 5. DISCUSSION SECTION ... 23

5.1 Work-related factors that influence the intention to continue working ... 23

5.2 Scores on the work-related factors and their implications at Noorderpoort ... 24

5.3 Recommendations for Noorderpoort ... 25

5.4 Limitations and suggestions for further research ... 26

5.5 Conclusion ... 27

LITERATURE ... 29

APPENDIX 1: Age composition in educational sector ... 34

APPENDIX 2: Demographic shift in work population ... 35

APPENDIX 3: Electronic questionnaire ... 36

APPENDIX 4: Semi-structured interview sheet ... 41

(4)

1. INTRODUCTION SECTION

“Age is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength” (Betty Friedan, 1921-2006, an American writer, activist and feminist)

The population in the Western world is getting older. The aging of the workforce is a key policy concern to countries with extensive welfare states (e.g., Schultz & Adams, 2007). Some main drivers of this demographic shift in the workforce are an increased longevity (Schultz & Henkens, 2010), a general trend towards lower birth rates (Templer, Armstrong-Stassen & Cattaneo, 2010), longer periods of study (Buyens, van Dijk, DeWilde & de Vos, 2008) and lastly the aging of a massive post of Second World War baby boomers, those born between 1946-1964 (Purcell, 2010). Therefore, extending people‟s working life has become a key element in handling the rising costs of public pensions as well as the looming labour shortages due to the demographical transitions as described above (van Dalen, Henkens, Henderikse & Schippers, 2010). In The Netherlands, the government has already taken some legal actions (e.g. higher tax rates on early retirement benefits, lower unemployment benefits for older workers, and a gradual raise to the age of 67 to be eligible for a public pension) to discourage older workers to retire early (Henkens & Leenders, 2010).

From a company‟s perspective, organizations will need to find ways to retain their valuable older workers (those aged 50 years and older), and maintain satisfaction levels of both the employer and employees (Callanan & Greenhaus, 2008). A remarkable observation in the light of this is that despite of the evidence that older workers can be of great value to their companies (Ng & Feldman, 2008), only a few organizations have implemented strategies aimed at older worker retention (Peterson & Spiker, 2005; Rappaport, Bancroft & Okum, 2003). One reason might be the lack of knowledge about appropriate strategies for retaining older workers.

This paper is concerned with finding these appropriate strategies by exploring the importance of work-related factors upon extending the working life of older teachers at the ROC Noorderpoort (Noorderpoort), a regional initial- and intermediate vocational education organization in the Northern part of The Netherlands. Work-life extension, in the context of this research, is not only concerned with postponing retirement by not applying for early retirement but also with making late-career moves by older workers less frequent/unnecessary. The education sector is chosen in particular since it has the highest levels of aging (The Council for Work and Income, 2004), the highest proportion of older workers in the Netherlands (De Lange & Thijssen, 2007), and is traditionally a sector with a high number of early retirees (Cuelenaere & Chotkowski, 2008). The latter is possibly caused by the relative high ratio of pensions-to-salaries in teaching (Harris & Adams, 2007).

(5)

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2010), a relative large „bubble‟ of older teachers is held by Noorderpoort which has to treated effectively the coming years (Noorderpoort, 2009). This demographic bubble, which might remain for decades, is historically unique and subsequently leads to unique challenges for the organization. A simultaneous voluntary outflow of these workers for instance would not only lead to a drain in knowledge but also to acute job replacement problems (Arbeidsmarktbarometer PO, VO, MBO 2009/2010, 2011). By taking this into account, Noorderpoort will be benefited by obtaining a) knowledge about how to deal with this great proportion of older employees and by b) insights how to manage and control the retention of older workers in the different schools to smoothen the necessarily transitions in their labour force the coming years, especially in schools where traditionally labour shortages or problems with job replacements are experienced. Therefore, the central question that is addressed in this paper is:

To what extent do work-related factors influence older teachers’ intentions to continue in paid employment at Noorderpoort?

Answering this question might provide Noorderpoort valuable information on how they can subsequently anticipate on the needs and wishes of their older employees. This information will fit in the plans the organization has in setting up a Strategic Personnel Planning in order to effectively balance between the supply and demand of labour in the near future (Noorderpoort, 2009). Policymakers of Noorderpoort currently have limited insights on wishes and/or needs of their older employees, while employing a relative large deal of older employees (Appendix 1). For this research, the organizational structure of the Noorderpoort makes it possible to gather information on the impact of work-related factors that influence older teachers‟ intentions to continue in paid employment at Noorderpoort per school to see whether these influences differ over the teachers from different schools, in addition to age category-, gender-, and type of employment contract- differences.

The changing composition of the workforce (Appendix 2) implicates that individual working lives might be extended, leading to a changing nature of retirement. This paper provides additional insight that is needed with regard to our knowledge of preferred job characteristics of older workers and gives indications of possible driving forces behind older workers retirement extension decisions. Roughly speaking, older workers‟ retirement extension decisions are based on three indicators: the financial situation, the health situation and the meaning of work to the individual. The focus of this paper lies on the latter, the pure work-related factor for extending working lives which can be directly influenced by the organization (Meaning of Work International Research Team ,1987).

(6)

2. THEORY SECTION

2.1 Extending working lives – A theoretical framework

A relative large amount of research is focused on non work-related factors that influence an individuals‟ decision whether or not to extend its working life, like finances and health. The financial factor includes reasons related to the financial need or lack of financial resources, and is the most cited reason for older workers to continue in labour (Crampton, Hodge & Mishra, 1996). If the financial situation is satisfying, retirement is possible at any age or career stage. If not, retirement might not be a realistic option since the employee cannot afford to retire (Templer et al., 2010). Health is also a factor that has significant impact upon the decision to continue working (Van den Berg, Elders & Burdorf, 2010;Stamov-Roßnagel & Hertel, 2010). Important health factors include factors that inhibit a worker‟s ability to physically or mentally carry out the work and the health of a worker‟s partner. Since the current research is aimed at work-related matters that can be influenced by the management, the described non work-related factors are not included in this research. The focus lies on a third factor, meaning of work, which to a great extent can be directly influenced by an organization. Meaning of work should be seen as a collective term for why an individual wants that certain job in that certain organisation in that certain time period.

Throughout a person‟s life, work is considered to be of high importance when compared to other aspects like leisure and religion (Harpaz, 2002). After family, it sometimes is regarded as the most important aspect during a lifetime. Apparently, work might be so important to people that sometimes they decide to continue to work even though they have enough money to maintain their lifestyle without it. At the same time, others prefer to stop working as soon as it is feasible. For some individuals, it seems that life and work are intertwined while others seem to regard work as something being apart from other aspects in life. In others words, meaning of work as an antecedent to a decision to continue in work varies over people, age, occupation and culture (Hodson, 2002). Investigation is therefore needed to find out whether older workers want to continue working for reasons other than the often-cited economic and health-related reasons and what factors might influence such intentions.

In order to do these investigations on work-related factors, a theoretical model is used as a starting point for this research. The model, highlighting the areas for testing, is described in figure 1. The work-related factors that may impact upon older workers‟ intention to continue in paid work are essential for management to understand in order to be utilised for retaining valued older workers. These factors would help explain why older workers may choose to continue in, or leave, employment and how organisations can affect such choices.

(7)

 Perceived insider status

 Perceived meaningfulness of contribution

 Opportunities to work on challenging assignments

 Perceived autonomy

 Flexible work arrangements

 Job development climate

 Age stereotyping (positive and negative)

 Perceived attitudes of supervisors Financial Situation

Health of Self and Others Meaning of Work Int en ti on of o lder w ork er s t o c ont inu e in p ai d em p loym e nt Non work-related Work-related FIGURE 1

Theoretical model on the intention of older workers to continue in paid employment

Source: Own development

that have negative influences on the retirement decision like passion for work (van Dam, van der Vorst & van der Heijden, 2009). On the other hand, push-factors such as caring responsibilities (Dow & Meyer, 2010) or interests outside work (Scherger, Nazroo & Higgs, 2011) exist and operate in opposite directions by having a positive influence on retirement decisions. Although there might be some overlap, this research is primarily concerned about factors that influence intentions to continue working and not about factors that play a role in the retirement decision.

(8)

TABLE 1

Work-related factors influencing older workers’ intention to continue paid employment

Work-related factors Source

Perceived insider status Armstrong-Stassen & Schlosser (2011)

Perceived meaningfulness of contribution Armstrong-Stassen & Schlosser (2011) Opportunities to work on challenging assignmentsa Chew & Chan (2007)

Perceived autonomy Shacklock, Brunetto & Nelson (2009)

Flexible working arrangements Shacklock, Brunetto & Nelson (2009)

Job development climate Armstrong-Stassen & Schlosser (2008)

Age stereotyping Gaillard & Desmette (2010)

Perceived attitudes of supervisors Henkens & van Solinge (2007)

a

= research not directed at older employees in particular

Perceived insider status

So-called „company-insiders‟ are regarded those who belong to the company‟s in-group; have a central role in a company‟s department. They perceive themselves, as opposed to „company outsiders‟, often as „being one of the guys‟ who belong to the majority (Stamper & Masterson, 2002). In a recently published research, Armstrong-Stassen and Schlosser (2011) compared two groups of older workers, one with relative high scores on perceived insider status and the other with lower scores on perceived insider status. They found that older employees who regard themselves as insiders express greater intention to remain with their organization than those who perceive themselves as outsiders (p<.001). It is important to mention that it involves perceptions of insider status which may not be equal an employees‟ level of actual inclusion.

Perceived meaningfulness of contribution

(9)

Opportunities to work on challenging assignments

A large amount of literature agrees that one of the goals of HRM is to “utilize to the full the human resources by providing high quality challenging jobs for high calibre staff ” (Wood & Wall, 2007). Examples of HR-tools that aim at making work more challenging for the individual are job rotation or job enrichment. Chew and Chan (2008) found minor, marginally non-significant, indications that opportunities to work on challenging assignments could have a positive influence on the employees‟ intention to stay. Unclear is whether this would also apply to older workers who arrived at their final career stage. Therefore the factor is included in this research to find out whether older teachers believe job development would play a role in their decision to continue to work at Noorderpoort. Typical held stereotypes on older workers picture them to be inflexible, resistant to training and to change (Hewitt, 2009; Redman & Snape, 2002) and not particularly interested in new challenges. Concurrently, other research shows for example that mentoring programs, where an older employees guides its younger counterparts, is experienced by older workers as a challenging and satisfying activity (Stevens-Roseman, 2009).

Perceived autonomy

Employees‟ autonomy in the workplace refers to their ability to make decisions about how and when to undertake workplace tasks (e.g., Morgeson, Delaney-Klinger & Hemingway, 2005), and is another factor that may affect employees‟ decisions to continue in paid employment. In a Norwegian study, Blekesaune and Solem (2005) discovered that early retirement (the opposite of continuing to work) was influenced by low levels of autonomy in job tasks among males. Moreover, Shacklock et al. (2009) found that the intrinsic aspects of the job, and particularly autonomy, had a negative influence on the decision to retire (p<.001).

Flexible working arrangements

(10)

arrangements and reduced hours. Shacklock et al. (2009) found in their study that offering flexible work arrangements is positively related to older workers‟ decision to continue working (p<.005).

Job development climate

Job development climate reflects the degree to which jobs are designed to promote continuous learning and provide flexibility for acquiring new knowledge and skills (Armstrong-Stassen & Schlosser, 2008). Perceptions of a development climate are believed to form the basis for employees‟ responses such as commitment to their organization. Since issues of skill obsolescence and training are highly significant for older workers, providing them with access to training is one way the organization communicates the value it places on an older workers‟ contribution (Patrickson & Hartmann, 1995). Hayward and Grady (1986) found that exit from the workforce is lowest in occupations characterized by high, substantively complex work and low physical demand. Hence jobs with good opportunities to develop skills, low physical effort, high-perceived control, and application of social skills motivate people to delay their retirement. Despite of this evidence, organizational policies frequently do not encourage older employees to engage in training and development activities to update or acquire knowledge and skills (Schaie & Achenbaum, 1993). In a study by Armstrong-Stassen & Schlosser (2008), indications were found that a job development climate creates a sense of affective commitment which is positively related to the intention to continue working (p=.05).

Age stereotyping

Age stereotyping involves attributing certain qualities or shortcomings to an individual based on a general view that is held on a larger group of people to which they belong. Age stereotyping is often unconscious, negatively loaded and can be endorsed by the elderly themselves – negative self-stereotyping – (Kruse & Schmitt, 2006; van Dalen, Henkens & Schippers, 2010) and by others in the professional work-setting (e.g., Zaniboni, Sarchielli & Fraccarolie, 2010; Cowan, Fitzpatrick, Roberts, & While, 2004). Especially in the education-setting, where age-differences might become salient, stereotypes are prevailing (Redman & Snake, 2002).

(11)

Perceived attitudes of supervisors

Social factors are also believed to play a role in deciding to continue to work or not (Henkens & van Solinge, 2007). Managers or supervisors are obviously important in controlling the tasks and assessing the performance of their subordinates. They can arrange training activities, hold job evaluations and may stimulate the development of the employee (de Lange & Thijssen, 2007). Besides, they might have an important direct influence on the moment of retirement by making decisions on the outflow of older workers. The same accounts for the opposite, the retention of older employees.

Henkens and van Solinge (2007) found that employees seem to be sensitive to the notion of their direct supervisor on the topic of continuing to work. They concluded that a large number of employees would tend to postpone retirement if their supervisor would ask them to do so. Therefore, the perceived attitude of the supervisor on the value of older workers and their retention is a factor that has to be taken into account as well. A remarkable fact in this light is that the employee often waits until the very last moment to discuss retirement issues with a supervisor. So attitudes largely rely on perceptions instead of actually knowing what the supervisor thinks about older employees. Although Henkens and van Solinge (2007) did not measure the actual impact of perceived attitudes of supervisors, they believe it might cross the mind of older workers who decide to continue their work and is therefore worthwhile to include as the final work-related factor that is used in this study.

2.3 Hypotheses

In summary, a collection of literature makes us informed on the work-related factors which might alter the intentions of older workers in terms of their future employment. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to examine the impact of certain work-related factors on older teachers‟ intentions to continue paid work at Noorderpoort and to check whether or not they feel that Noorderpoort meets them in satisfying their demands. Therefore, the first hypothesis addressed in this paper is:

Hypothesis 1: Perceptions of the work-related factors (insider status, perceived meaningfulness of contribution, challenging assignments, autonomy, flexibility, job development climate, positive / negative age stereotyping and attitudes of supervisors) will influence older teachers‟ intentions to continue paid work at Noorderpoort.

Since the amount of hard evidence for the relative impact of each work-related factor from prior research differs somewhat, a kind of ranking can be made that reflects how the factors are expected to be related to one another. Therefore, based upon the prior finding the next hypothesis is:

(12)

followed by both job development climate and age stereotyping. The least impact is expected to be found for perceived meaningfulness, challenging assignments and finally perceived attitudes of supervisors.

Since Noorderpoort has limited policies specifically aimed at older teachers and is to a large extent not completely informed about preferences of their older employees, the third hypothesis is:

Hypothesis 3: Older teachers believe that Noorderpoort insufficiently answers their wishes with regard to the work-related factors (insider status, perceived meaningfulness of contribution, challenging assignments, autonomy, flexibility, job development climate, positive / negative age stereotyping and attitudes of supervisors) and this varies for teachers‟ age-category, gender and type of employment contract.

(13)

Work-related factors for retaining older workers 13 / 43

3. METHOD SECTION

This paper puts emphasis on older workers‟ intentions to continue in paid employment and indicates the impact of a set of selected work-related factors upon such intentions and the degree to which the participants believe Noorderpoort satisfies them in these needs. The relationships among the variables tested are highlighted in figure 1. The eight work-related factors involved are: insider status, meaningfulness of contribution, challenging assignments, autonomy, flexible work arrangements, job development climate, age stereotyping, and attitudes of supervisors.

Noorderpoort, like many other organisations in the education sector, currently goes through a period of reorganisation, organizational shrinkage, and staff reinstatement. These activities seem to be a direct result of both cost-cutting by the government and a decreasing demand for this type of education and/or demographic shrinkage. Off course, this period of organizational change has an impact on the perceived level of job security for the employees. This especially applies for the very young workers and the older workers who are typically regarded as the most vulnerable groups during these periods of reorganisation (Lazear & Gibbs, 2008). Therefore, carefulness and integrity was needed throughout the research period and the decision was made to suit the research design to the organizational context. The researcher and policy officers of Noorderpoort believe it is inappropriate to ask people how long they want to continue to work while at the same time the decision could be made that jobs are ended. Therefore, instead of directly measuring the intention to remain working at Noorderpoort (dependent variable), three more indirect measures were used. Firstly, statements were used that ask the participants to what extent they think that the eight work-related factors will impact their decision to continue to work (see 3.2). Secondly, the relation between the work-related factors and the intention to remain working at Noorderpoort was asked during the interviews (see 3.4). Lastly, partial evidence was found in prior research (see 2.2/2.3) that shows the possible relation between the work-related factors and the intention to continue the working life.

Therefore, statements and conclusions on the relation among the work-related variables and the dependent variable that are drawn in the remainder of this paper are either based upon indirect measures of this relation or on prior research on this topic. In case of the latter, this will be explicitly mentioned. All research is conducted at ROC Noorderpoort and as a result specifically aimed at the proportion of older teachers employed.

3.1 Procedure

(14)

to measure outcomes and the latter can provide a greater depth of understanding about “complex interactions, tacit processes, and often hidden beliefs and values” (Marshall & Rossman, 1989).

We now turn to the quantitative and a qualitative component for this research. The prior is the main component and involves an electronic questionnaire with 66 questions or statements (Appendix 3). For the statements, a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) is used. The questionnaire, in Dutch language, is distributed across the teachers using an internal HR-tool of Noorderpoort, called ROC-Spiegel, which practically is a survey HR-tool by e-mail. Research participants were selected using the company‟s database, called PeopleSoft, by using the criteria of 1) teachers, 2) aged 50 or older, with 3) a fixed employment contract. Participants were selected over the separate schools of Noorderpoort. Noorderpoort combines more than twenty different schools in the region, training approximately 20,000 pupils and employing 1,700 staff members. Participants had a period of nine working days to fill out the questionnaire. To guarantee the anonymity, every participant received a unique ID-code and did not had to report personal information which would make them retraceable to others. This anonymity was crucial due to a period of reorganization at Noorderpoort and the taboo which might exist on (pre-) retirement or extending working lives.

The qualitative component, at the other hand, is a semi-structured evaluation interview (Appendix 4) with a group of participants who are randomly selected after filling out the electronic questionnaire. The aim of the interviews is twofold: to give the participants an opportunity to express their opinions on the topics of this research and to support their answers given in the electronic survey.

3.2 Measures

The questionnaire consists of two parts. The first is hypothetical in nature and asks the participants to what extent they think that the eight work-related factors will impact their decision to continue to work by using statements like “I can imagine that my decision to continue working would be influenced by the degree to which my contributions to the organization are meaningful” or “I can imagine that my decision to continue working depends to the degree I feel valued by the organization”.

The second, more extensive part of the questionnaire deals with the second research question and is concerned with the degree to which the older teachers believe Noorderpoort satisfies their wishes on the eight work-related factors. Table 2, on page 16, lists the variables and some examples of test items. The complete list of questions and statements is represented in Appendix 3. According to Nunnally and Bernstein (1994), internal consistency values of .70 is considered acceptable, with values above .90 ultimately desirable. The Cronbach‟s alpha of the items used in this study range from an exact 0.70 to 0.92 .

3.3 Quantitative analysis

(15)

Sciences (SPSS), version 14, was used for analyzing the data which was gathered. Analysis of testing the impact of the eight work-related factors were performed by using descriptive statistics. For analyzing the degree to which participants believe that Noorderpoort suits their preferred level on the eight work-related factors t-tests, f-tests, cross-tabulations and descriptive statistics are used, providing insight in responses based on the teachers‟ school, gender, age-category and type of employment contract. All findings are detailed in the results section of this paper.

3.4 Qualitative analysis

(16)

TABLE 2

Constructs, variables and test items

Constructs Variables Test items (modified for older workers) Work-related

factors

Perceived insider status Measured with the 6-item Perceived Insider Status scale developed by Stamper and Masterson (2002). A sample item is “I feel very much a part of this organization” (α =0.83). Perceived

meaningfulness of contribution

Measured with the 4-item Perceived Meaningfulness of

Contribution scale by Brown and Leigh (1996). A sample item is “The work I do is very valuable to my organization” (α =0.75). Opportunities to work

on challenging assignments

Measured with a 5-item scale derived from the challenging assignments section of the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldham, 1975). A sample item includes “Employees are offered more challenging work within the organization” (α =0.70). Perceived autonomy Measured with a 4-item scale by Thompson and Prottas (2005).

For example “I have a lot of say about what happens on my job” (α =0.73).

Flexible working arrangements

Measured with 3 items based on the Work-Family Conflict Scale by Netemeyer, Boles and McMurrian (1996). For example: “The demands of my work interfere with my home and family life” (α =0.92).

Job development climate

Measured by the 5-item Job Support Subscale (Tracey & Tews, 2005). A sample item is “My job assignments are designed to promote personal development” (α =0.87).

Age Stereotyping Measured by using 6 items of Chiu, Chan, Snape and Redman (2001), 3 negative and 3 positive. A sample item of a negative stereotype is “older employees, in general, are not that interested in acquiring new knowledge and skills” (α =0.85). A sample of a positive stereotype is “older employees, in general, are often more loyal” (α =0.81)a.

Perceived attitudes of supervisors

Measured by using 4-items by Henkens and van Solinge (2007). A sample item is “My supervisor would give me less working hours if I would ask for it” (α =0.70).

Demographic variables Teachers‟ school, gender, age-category and type of employment contract

This consecutively is the separate school of Noorderpoort in which the respondent works, male or female, aged 50-54, 55-59, or 60 and older, and full-time or part-time employment contract.

a

(17)

4. RESULTS SECTION

TABLE 3

Frequency table and Chi-Square Test of demographic variables Demographic variable (n=306) Frequency observed Frequency expected Percentage observed Percentage expected Gender Male Female 150 156 162a 144 49.0 51.0 53.0 47.0 Age-category 50-54 55-59 60+ 89 135 82 87b 129 90 29.1 44.1 26.8 28.4 42.2 29.4 Type of employment contract Full-time Part-time 133 173 124c 182 43.5 56.5 40.5 59.5 a

Chi-square = (1) 1.889, sig. = .169, b Chi-square = (2) 1.035, sig. = .270, c Chi-square = (1) 1.098, sig. = .281

Table 3 is an overview of the research participants (n = 306) and their demographic features. The relative low Chi-Square values and their accompanied degrees of freedom and probability values show that sample figures (observed) for this study do not significantly differ from population figures (expected), implying a small chance that the research sample significantly differs from the entire population. The teachers‟ school was also included in the electronic survey but is not included in this overview. Results of whether teachers‟ scores on the work-related factors differ for the demographic variables are discussed later in this chapter.

4.1 Quantitative analysis

Perceptions of the work-related factors that influence older teachers‟ intentions to continue paid work at Noorderpoort were measured in two separate ways: whether the individual thinks it will account for themselves (self), and whether they think it will account for older teachers in general (general). Comparing these scores can provide signals that an individual rates a certain job characteristic as more important for itself in choosing whether to work longer or not than the individual considers it to be important in the same decisions made by other teachers. Table 4 details the means, standard deviations and t-statistics for each work-related factor.

(18)

TABLE 4

Means, standard deviations and test statistics of work-related factors influencing older teachers’ intentions to continue paid work at Noorderpoort

Work-related factor (n=300) M SD t-test

Perceived insider status Self General 4.17 3.27 .932 1.100 t (299) 11.372, p < .001 Perceived meaningfulness Self

General 3.98 3.63 .979 1.181 t (294) 4.021, p < .001

Challenging work Self

General 4.00 3.11 .934 1.080 t (297) 11.564, p < .001

Perceived autonomy Self

General 4.00 3.50 .958 1.059 t (299) 6.708, p < .001

Flexible working arrangements Self General 4.05 3.64 .994 1.126 t (297) 5.512, p < .001

Job development climate Self General 3.74 3.21 1.069 1.089 t (298) 6.923, p < .001

Age Stereotyping Self

General 3.36 2.98 1.270 1.113 t (294) 4.119, p < .001

Perceived attitudes of supervisors Self General 3.12 3.35 1.289 1.160 t (298) -2.379, p < .05

arrangements, challenging work, and perceived autonomy (m = 4.05; 4.00; 4.00). In contrast, respondents were indecisive on whether perceived attitudes by supervisors (m = 3.12) and age stereotyping (m = 3.36) will influence their decision to continue working.

(19)

TABLE 5

Means and standard deviations of Noorderpoort’ scores on the work-related factors

Work-related factor (n=306) M SD

Perceived insider status 3.77 .829

Perceived meaningfulness of contribution 3.88 .676 Opportunities to work on challenging assignments 4.16 .595

Perceived autonomy 2.89 .833

Flexible working arrangements 2.86 1.229

Job development climate 2.96 .856

Age Stereotyping (negative) 2.26 .907

Age Stereotyping (positive) 3.15 .934

Perceived attitudes of supervisors 3.43 .768

TABLE 6

Mean scores and test statistics of work-related factors sorted by demographic variables

Work-related factor (n=306) Gender Age category Contract

Male Female 50-54 55-59 60+ Full-time Part-time Perceived insider status 3.78 3.76 3.91 3.72 3.69 3.88e 3.69

Meaningfulness of work 3.82 3.94 3.95 3.89 3.80 3.95 3.83

Challenging work 4.10 4.22 4.21 4.17 4.08 4.17 4.15

Perceived autonomy 2.99a 2.79 2.97 2.78 2.97 2.91 2.88

Flexible work arrangements 2.75 2.95 2.89 2.99 2.59 2.77 2.92

Job development climate 2.93 2.99 3.07 2.91 2.94 2.96 2.97

Age Stereotyping (negative) 2.38b 2.14 2.16 2.28 2.32 2.34 2.20 Age Stereotyping (positive) 3.26c 3.04 3.03 3.11 3.36 3.19 3.12

Attitudes of supervisors 3.44 3.43 3.53 3.27d 3.60 3.35 3.50

a

t (294) 2.204, p < .05, b t (297) 2.277, p < .05, c t (295) 2.065, p < .05, d F (2, 296) 5.583, p < .005, e t (300) 1.961, p= .05

(20)

mean score on insider status (t (300) 1.961, p=.05) as compared to part-time employment. An overview of the mean scores on the work-related factors for the different schools of Noorderpoort is given in Appendix 5.

4.2 Qualitative analysis

For matters of interpretation and generalisation, short interviews are held with 17 randomly selected older teachers across the separate schools of Noorderpoort. During these 15-minutes conversations, opinions on topics like retirement, extending working lives, and job characteristics are ventilated. Gathered information is primarily used for formulating recommendations for Noorderpoort on age-specific work policies and writing the discussion section of this paper. After analysing the input from the interviews, the following summaries per topic can be drawn.

Feeling like an older teacher

A small majority of the older teachers that were interviewed don‟t regard themselves as being an older teacher by the way they feel. Especially those aged 50-55 don‟t notice any signs of getting older in performing their daily routines. As the teachers are close to the age of 60, and especially those who have been teaching their entire career, some claim to experience an increasing amount of both mental and physical fatigue in their work. Several interviewees indicated that especially the actual teaching in the classroom is getting more and more intense as they get older while the group of yearly pupils remain same-aged.

Factors that influence older teachers’ decision to continue working

Finances and access to public pension are the most-cited reason by older teachers when it comes to the decision to work longer. Also general satisfaction with the particular job is mentioned by a majority of the interviewees. The respondents experience that all kinds of interest outside work are present and as long as their job is no obstacle to these outside interests, continuing working is not regarded as some kind of punishment.

Work-related factors that influence older teachers’ decision to continue working

(21)

Besides the flexible work arrangements, single respondents mentioned the factors autonomy and work recognition. Challenging work was also mentioned by several respondents but is regarded as something the individual needs to initiate itself, instead of the management in designing a job.

The HR-department

Most respondents argue Noorderpoort could make more use of its HR-department and in a slight different role. A vast majority would like to see the HR-staff in a more visible, cooperative, proactive, and approachable role. They feel that the information services could be improved and would like to establish more contact moments with HR-employees. Although a standard policy of Noorderpoort is that employees have one job evaluation per year, 22.5% of the respondents in the electronic questionnaire indicated that over the last two years they did not have such an annual conversation. Although supervisors are, in essence, responsible for job evaluations, the HR-department might have to step up to check how these situations can occur.

Retirement plans and plans on work-life extension

Retirement and work-life extension are topics that are active and existing across teachers aged 50 and older. There are signs of a general tendency to embark on the retirement process long before reaching the actual retirement age. By analysing the interviewees on these topics, roughly three groups can be made. The first group, who could be defined as the status quo group, is generally satisfied and could imagine to remain active in their current job until retirement. This is a big group and generally these employees are aged 50-55, and/or relatively new at Noorderpoort or in the job as teacher. They would welcome some age-specific work policies but don‟t see it as an absolute necessity, they think it should be an option.

A second, equal-sized, group of older teachers could be defined as the worried group. These teachers experience an increasing amount of work-pressure as they get older which can sometimes lead to mental and physical exhaustion. Moreover they feel there groups of pupils getting bigger and regret the bureaucracy they sometimes have to face. Generally these teachers feel that some change or tailor-made solutions are necessary in the future to make them remain active in their current job until retirement and wish Noorderpoort would adapt more to their wishes and concerns. Characteristics of this group of teachers is that they are aged 55 or older and in their current job for a long time. They are very content with their flexible BAPO-arrangement, would be benefitted if Noorderpoort would offer some age-specific work policies and are prepared to think along in designing these policies. An interesting fact is that several teachers mentioned that Noorderpoort could make more use of their individual experience and knowledge. This offers support for a question in the electronic questionnaire where a small majority of older teachers indicated they think they could pass valuable information to their younger colleagues and they expect the young teachers will value this.

(22)

(23)

5. DISCUSSION SECTION

5.1 Work-related factors that influence the intention to continue working The central research question that was addressed in this study was:

To what extent do work-related factors influence older teachers’ intentions to continue in paid employment at Noorderpoort?

An extensive literature review eventually yielded nine separate work-related factors which can be influenced by the management of an organisation and might have impact upon an individuals‟ intention to remain in paid employment. These factors are: insider status, meaningfulness of contribution, challenging assignments, autonomy, flexibility, job development climate, positive / negative age stereotyping, and attitudes of supervisors.

Analysis of both the quantitative and qualitative results give minor indications that, to some degree, the selected work-related factors might influence an older teachers‟ intention to continue the employment at Noorderpoort (Hypothesis 1). Although the nature of this study and its approach is unable to clearly measure the true impact of all separate factors on the teachers‟ actual intention to continue their working life, the results do make it possible to bring us somewhat closer to answering the research question and its accompanied hypotheses.

(24)

Prior to this study, other studies on this topic found strong to moderate evidence on actually predicting the impact of each separate work-related factor on a workers‟ intention to continue working (Hypothesis 2). When comparing the conclusions from those prior studies with the indications of this study, we can carefully put forward that indeed flexible working conditions, perceived insider status and perceived autonomy are thought to play a certain role in older workers‟ intention to continue the working life. That is, these work-related factors possibly have the most impact of the factors that were included in this study. Apart from the three mentioned factors, minor but existing indications suggest perceived meaningfulness and challenges in work are the next most influential work-related factors in this process. However, actual measures and additional studies are needed to support more evidence as will be further explained below (see 5.4).

5.2 Scores on the work-related factors and their implications at Noorderpoort

As described in the introduction section, Noorderpoort will be benefited by obtaining a) knowledge about how to deal with a great proportion of older employees and by b) insights how to manage and control the retention of older workers to smoothen the necessarily transitions in their labour force the coming years, especially in schools where traditionally labour shortages are experienced.

For Noorderpoort, the research participants gave relatively low scores on perceived flexible work arrangements, perceived autonomy, and perceived job development climate as compared to the other work-related factors involved in this study (table 5). At the same, exact flexible work arrangements and perceived autonomy are regarded to be amongst the most influential factors in deciding whether to extend the working lives and most valued job characteristics. For this reason and with help of the data gathered, a number of recommendations for Noorderpoort are drawn and summarized below in section 5.3. Recommendations on job development climate are not included because of the weak indications of its expected impact and the general stand that development lies with the individual itself, as described above.

(25)

workers. Although differences are small, it suits conclusions drawn in other studies on stereotypical thinking in a way that males are believed to pass into stereotypical thinking in social situations somewhat earlier than females do on average (Markovits, Benenson & White, 2006). Minor, though significant, variations for teachers‟ age-category and type of employment contract were also found. Perceptions of the attitudes of supervisors differed over the age-categories. Again, no clear explanation is found that would clarify this finding. When looking at type of employment contract, full-time employees have higher scores on perceived insider status (the degree to which they feel part of the organisation) as compared to part-timers. This finding obviously comes as no surprise.

5.3 Recommendations for Noorderpoort

Opening the eyes and ears for the challenges that a growing number of ageing teachers experience on a daily basis is a first, and crucial, step that may result in making a major leap organization-wide on the long-term. This step is taken by performing this study. Conceiving that older teachers don‟t necessarily experience a decline in qualities but more a shift in qualities could be a start in designing some age-specific work policies. This step can possibly be taken by Noorderpoorts‟ policy-makers.

After analysing the questionnaire and the interviews, the major points of attention are concentrated around an increased work-load as teachers get older and, possibly in relation to this, feeling bounded to a tight system with high experienced levels of bureaucracy and low levels of employee voice. This applies especially for the teachers aged 55 and older and/or those who have been teaching for practically their entire career. Along with the recent initiatives to end the BAPO-arrangement (see 4.2) for individual teachers and the law amendment on public pensions , the just-in-time reactive policy by Noorderpoort on this field is suggested to make room for a more pro-active, age-conscious policy. Therefore, the following two tangible ideas are suggested which could possibly function as a starting point:

The 58+option

Teachers aged 58 and older get the choice to apply for either work-time reduction or work-load mitigation. Work-time reduction is comparable to the current BAPO-arrangements and directly leads to shorter or less working days. Work-load mitigation could be obtained by less actual teaching for a class, regarded as the most heavy task, and getting other tasks instead like coaching trajectories or education development. Furthermore, it could entail teaching smaller classes, classes with older pupils or adults, or no evening classes any more, which all three are believed to be less intense.

(26)

understand this takes some time and they might not always get what they ultimately hoped for. If there are opportunities that would satisfy both the team manager and the teacher, implementation can happen as a new school year starts. If more than one teacher per team applies for the 58+option and there are limited possibilities, decisions could be made based on age and tenure of the applicants. Information services, supervision and administration for this policy could be done by HR-employees, preferably per school. After implementation, some fixed evaluation moments are chosen to check whether both the teacher and the supervisors are content with the adjustments.

An internal job mobility centre

Noorderpoort provides more than 1.700 jobs and many employees have been in their current function for very long times. Internal job transfers could be a solution for the relative small amount of teachers who would like to have a new challenge, feel saturated in their current function or otherwise experience difficulties or a loss in motivation in their current job. It could also directly benefit Noorderpoort during periods of change or reorganization; bringing in some fresh blood might encounter possible resistance to change.

Making job opportunities available to the existing

employee base might lead to greater employee satisfaction and retention and could stimulate

talent-development, while at the same time lowering staffing costs and filling positions much

more quickly.

An internal job mobility centre could post internal vacancies, part-time jobs, or temporary projects for interested employees of Noorderpoort. Providing a formal internal labour market could offer opportunities for employees to make vertical or horizontal job transfers within the organization instead of running the risk that valuable employees go look for opportunities outside Noorderpoort. In practice, the internal job mobility centre could be an extra service of Noorderpoorts‟ HR-department. All internal job opportunities could be registered and posted centrally and dependent on the individuals‟ profile some internal mobility options might be offered. Interested employees can either apply for a vacancy or project or they can they can inform the HR-department that they would be open for new job opportunities.

Noorderpoorts‟ intranet technologies would be a suitable platform for

supporting this internal mobility process.

5.4 Limitations and suggestions for further research

(27)

detailed, person-based, research at Noorderpoort is thought to be necessary to justify these assumptions.

A second limitation that needs to be taken into account is the scope of the study and therefore the generalizability of the results. Although the Chi-square statistics implicate that the research sample is likely to be a reliable representation of the research population, the research population is still a group of approximately 600 individuals. Statements on older workers in different occupations or even on older teachers in general can by no means be based on this study alone, particularly as the nature of work is believed to play an important role as it comes to the intention to continue working (e.g., Saba & Guerin, 2005). Studies that measure the impact of work-related factors on the intention to continue working thus need to be replicated in order to test the validity of the results in different organisational contexts, like small sized enterprises or in the private sector.

A third and final limitation of this study involves the more or less common bias that is believed to be likely in the self-reporting techniques used in this study (e.g., Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2010). Nevertheless, Spector (1994) points out that self-reports on inner feelings, thoughts and intentions are useful in providing data on retirement decisions, as long as the literature review and additional evidence support the interpretations and inferences made about the data. This justifies the additional value of the interviews that were held with a random selection of research participants in this study. However, it is suggested that more interviews with Noorderpoorts‟ older teachers would benefit the knowledge and understanding of the impact of the work-related factors upon the intended retirement decisions and possible interventions that Noorderpoort subsequently can apply. Here rests a possible role for Noorderpoorts‟ HR-department.

A final suggestion for further research related to the topic and labour field of this study is on the perceived- and actual impact of older teachers in the classroom. During the interviews, a number of teachers claimed that they believe that their pupils would prefer a younger teacher over them and that a younger teacher might do a better job in teaching the course material. Possibly, „feeling old‟ could make older workers wish to retire or resign from a particular job (Desmette & Gaillard, 2008). Measuring whether the assumptions of the older teachers are justified would add a new dimension when looking for a best-fit approach for older teachers in the educational sector.

5.5 Conclusion

(28)

identified who all, to a certain degree, are believed to play a possible role in an individuals‟ decision to continue in paid employment (Armstrong-Stassen & Schlosser, 2011; Chew & Chan, 2007; Shacklock et al., 2009; Armstrong-Stassen & Schlosser, 2008; Gaillard & Desmette, 2010; Henkens & van Solinge, 2007). These work-related factors are regarded to be separate from other factors that might affect the intention to continue working, like health and finances.

The framework that is used for this study might be a beginning in the challenge of retaining older workers in the light of the growing shortage of labour across OECD countries. Traditionally, older workers in the labour field are somewhat ignored because of the perception of abundance and better performance of younger workers. However, recent research and a demographic shift in the working population have led to new insights which take in the place of the old perceptions, values and beliefs on older workers. Organisations within a competitive labour market who ignore their significant role in affecting older workers‟ intentions to continue working might not only encounter hard times in filling vacancies but also experience an alarming simultaneous outflow of firm-specific knowledge which may ultimately affect their competitive advantage. The „just-in-time‟ reactive management of older workers no longer services the labour needs of organizations, and better and longer-term HR-planning is required to operate effectively in a competitive labour market.

(29)

LITERATURE

Armstrong-Stassen, M. & Schlosser, F. 2008. Benefits of a supportive development climate for older workers, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(4): 419-437.

Armstrong-Stassen, M. & Schlosser, F. 2011. Perceived organizational membership and the retention of older workers, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 32: 319-344.

Armstrong-Stassen, M. & Ursel, N.D. 2009. Perceived organizational support, career satisfaction, and the retention of older workers, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 82: 201-220.

Arrowsmith, J. & McGoldrick, A.E. 1997. A flexible future for older workers, Personnel Review, 26(4): 258-273.

Beehr, T.A., Glazer, S., Nielson, N.L. & Farmer, S.J. 2000. Work and non-work predictors of employees‟ retirement ages, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 57: 206-225.

Berg, T.I.J., van den, Elders, L.A.M. & Burdorf, A. 2010. Influence of health on work and early retirement, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 52(6): 576-583.

Blekesaune, M. & Solem, P.E. 2005. Working conditions and early retirement: a prospective study of retirement behaviour, Research on Aging, 27(1): 3-30.

Brown, S.P. & Leigh, T.W. 1996. A new look at psychological climate and its relationship to job involvement, effort, and performance, Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 358-368. Buyens, D., Dijk, H., van, DeWilde, T. & Vos, A., de. 2008. The aging workforce: perceptions of

career ending, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 24(2): 102-117.

Callanan, G.A. & Greenhaus, J.H. 2008. The baby boom generation and career management: a call to action, Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(1): 70-85.

Chew, J. & Chan, C.A. 2008. Human resource practices, organizational commitment and intention to stay, International Journal of Manpower, 29(6): 503-522.

Chiu, W.C.K., Chan, A.W., Snape, E. & Redman, T. 2001. Age stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes towards older workers: an east-west comparison, Human Relations, 54(5): 629-661. Collins, G.A. 2003. Rethinking retirement in the context of an aging workforce, Journal of

Career Development, 30: 145-157.

Coudin, G. & Alexopoulos, T. 2010. „Help me! I‟m old!‟. How negative aging stereotypes create dependency among older adults, Aging & Mental Health, 14(5): 516-523.

Cowan, D.T., Fitzpatrick, J.M., Roberts, J.D. & While, A.E. 2004. Measuring the knowledge and attitudes of health care professionals towards older people: The sensitivity of measurement instruments, Educational Gerontology, 30: 237-254.

Crampton, S., Hodge, J. & Mishra, J. 1996. Transition- ready or not: the aging of America‟s workforce, Public Personnel Management, 25(2): 243-256.

(30)

pervasiveness of the elderly stereotype, Journal of Social Issues, 61: 265-283.

Cuelenaere, B. & Chotkowski ,M. 2008. Werkt grijs door? Beroepsbevolking en werkgevers over

langer doorwerken, 2005-2007, Rotterdam: Ecorys.

Dalen, H.P., van, Henkens, K., Henderikse, W. & Schippers, J. 2010. Do European employers support later retirement, International Journal of Manpower, 31(3): 360-373.

Dalen, H.P., van, Henkens, K. & Schippers, J. 2010. Productivity of older workers: Perceptions of employers and employees, Population and Development Review, 36(2): 309-330.

Dam, K., van, Vorst, J.D.M., van der, & Heijden, B.I.J.M., van der, 2009. Employees‟ intentions to retire early: a case of planned behaviour and anticipated work conditions, Journal of Career

Development, 35(3): 265-289.

Desmette, D. & Gaillard, M. 2008. When a worker becomes an older worker, the effects of age-related social identity on attitudes towards retirement and work, Career Development International, 13(2): 168-185.

Dow, B. & Meyer, C. 2010. Caring and retirement: crossroads and consequences, International

Journal of Health Services, 40(4): 645-665.

Gaillard, M. & Desmette, D. 2010. (In)validating stereotypes about older workers influences their intentions to retire early and to learn and develop, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 32(1): 86-98.

Hackman, J. & Oldham, G. 1975. Development of the job diagnostic survey, Journal of

Applied Psychology, 60(2): 159-170.

Harpaz, R.S.I. 2002. Work-leisure relations: leisure orientation and the meaning of work, Journal of

Leisure Research, 34(2): 178-203.

Harris, D.N. & Adams, S.J. 2007. Understanding the level and causes of teacher turnover: A comparison with other professions, Economics of Education Review, 26: 325-337. Hayward, M.D. & Grady, W.R. 1986. The occupational retention and recruitment of older

men: the influence of structural characteristics of work, Social Forces, 64(3): 644-666. Henkens, K. & Leenders, M. 2010. Burnout and older workers‟ intention to retire, International

Journal of Manpower, 31(3): 306-321.

Henkens, K. & Solinge, H., van. 2007. Management van pensionering: de rol van de leidinggevende, In: De Lange, W. & Thijssen, J. (Eds.), De Waardevolle Senior: Personeelsbeleid voor

Oudere Werknemers, Amsterdam: Weka Uitgeverij BV.

Hewitt, S.D. 2009. Tackling psychological disengagement in older workers, Industrial and

Commercial Training, 41(2): 87-91.

Hill, E.J., Grzywacz, J.G., Allen, S., Blanchard, V.L., Matz-Costa, C., Shulkin, S. & Pitt-Catsouphes, M. 2008. Defining and conceptualizing workplace flexibility, Community, Work & Family, 11(2): 149-163.

(31)

as determinants of meaning and satisfaction at work, British Journal of Sociology, 53(2): 291-317.

Hoekstra, H.A. 2011. A career roles model of career development, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 78: 159-173.

Kooij, D.T.A.M., Jansen, P.G.W., Dikkers, J.S.E. & Lange, A.H., de. 2009. The influence of age on the associations between HR practices and both affective commitment and job satisfaction: a meta-analysis, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 31(8): 1111-1136.

Kooij, D.T.A.M., Lange, A.H., de, Jansen, P.G.W. & Dikkers, J.S.E. 2008. Older workers‟ motivation to continue to work: five meanings of age. A conceptual review, Journal of Managerial

Psychology, 23(4): 364-394.

Kruse, A. & Schmitt, E. 2006. A multidimensional scale for the measurement of agreement with age stereotypes and the salience of age in social interaction, Ageing and Society, 26: 393-411. Lange, W., de & Thijssen, J. 2007. De Waardevolle Senior: Personeelsbeleid voor Oudere

Werknemers, Amsterdam: Weka Uitgeverij BV.

Lazear, E.P. & Gibbs, M. 2008. Personnel Economics in Practice (2nd ed.), Oxford: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Markovits, H., Benenson, J. & White, S. 2006. Gender and priming differences in speed of processing and information relating to social structure, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42: 662-667.

Marshall, C. & Rossman, G. 1989. Designing qualitative research, Newbury Park, California: Sage.

McCann, R. & Giles, H. 2002. Ageism and the workplace: A communication perspective. In T. Nelson (Ed.), Ageism: 163-199. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

Meaning of Working International Research Team. 1987. The Meaning of Working, London: Academic Press.

Morgeson, F.P., Delaney-Klinger, K. & Hemingway, M.A. 2005. The importance of job autonomy, cognitive ability, and job-related skill for predicting role breadth and job performance,

Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(2): 399-406.

Netemeyer, R.G., Boles, J.S. & McMurrian, R. 1996. Development and validation of work–family conflict and family–work conflict scales, Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(4): 400-410. Ng, T.W.H. & Feldman, D.C. 2008. The relationship of age to ten dimension of job performance,

Journal of Applied Psychology, 93: 392-423.

Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B. & Wright, P.M. 2010. Human Resource Management:

Gaining a Competitive Advantage (7th ed.), New York: McGraw-Hill. Nunnally, J.C. & Bernstein, I.J. .1994. Psychometric theory, New York: McGraw-Hill. Patrickson, M. & Hartmann, L. 1995. Australia‟s ageing population: Implications for human

(32)

Peterson, S.J. & Spiker, B.K. 2005. Establishing the positive contributory value of older workers: A positive psychology perspective, Organizational Dynamics, 34, 153–167.

Pitt-Catsouphes, M. & Matz-Costa, C. 2008. The multi-generational workforce: workplace flexibility and engagement, Community, Work & Family, 11(2): 215-229.

Purcell, P.J. 2010. Older Workers: Employment and Retirement trends, Journal of Pension

Planning and Retirement, 36(2): 70-88.

Rappaport, A., Bancroft, E., & Okum, L. 2003. The aging workforce raises new talent management issues for employers, Journal of Organizational Excellence, 23: 55–66.

Redman, T. & Snape, E. 2002. Ageism in teaching: stereotypical beliefs and discriminatory attitudes towards over- 50s, Work, Employment & Society, 16(2): 355-371.

Rocco, T.S., Bliss, L.A., Gallagher, S. & Perez-Prado, A. 2003. Taking the next step: mixed methods research in organizational systems, Information Technology, Learning, and

Performance Journal, 21(1): 19-29.

Saba, T. & Guerin, G. 2005. Extending employment beyond retirement age: the case of health care managers in Quebec, Public Personnel Management, 34(2): 195-214.

Schaie, K.W. & Achenbaum, W.A. 1993. Societal impact on aging: Historical perspectives, New York: Springer.

Scherger, S., Nazroo, J. & Higgs, P. 2011. Leisure activities and retirement: do structures of inequality change in old age? Ageing & Society, 31: 146-172.

Schultz, K.S. & Adams, G.A. 2007. Aging and work in the 21st century, New Jersey: Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Schultz, K.S. & Henkens, K. 2010. Introduction to the changing nature of retirement, International

Journal of Manpower, 31(3): 265-270.

Shacklock K. & Brunetto, Y. 2005. Employees‟ perceptions of the factors affecting their decisions to retire, Internatonal Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 10(5): 740-756.

Shacklock, K., Brunetto, Y. & Nelson, S. 2009. The different variables that affect older males‟ and females‟ intentions to continue working, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 47(1): 79-101.

Spector, P.E. 1994. Using self-reporting questionnaires in OB research: a comment on the use of a controversial method, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 15(5): 385-392.

Stamov-Roßnagel, C. & Hertel, G. 2010. Older workers‟ motivation: against the myth of general decline, Management Decision, 48(6): 894-906.

Stamper, C.L. & Masterson, S.S. 2002. Insider or outsider? How employee perceptions of insider status affect their work behaviour, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 23: 875-894. Stevens-Roseman, E.S. 2009. Older mentors for newer workers: impact of a worker-driven