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PurposeThe article's aim is to introduce the papers contained in this special issue of the Journal of Managerial Psychology.Design/methodology/approachSpecifically the present article starts by discussing the meaning of the factor age and by considering who is actually termed an older worker. Next, the consequences of cognitive, physical and mental changes during the aging process for work and organizations are being discussed. Before presenting a general introduction to the research contributions that are included in this special issue, a plea is made for a more positive approach to older employees. The article presents a literature review, a discussion of the main topics and suggestions for future pathways for research and HRM.FindingsIt is indisputable that some cognitive, physical and mental changes take place while people grow older. However, what is less certain is how these changes impede on employees' well‐being. Recently, scholars seem to agree that the picture is not as negative as one used to think.Research limitations/implicationsThe implications are: use different conceptualizations of age; focus on the process of aging instead of on age as a factor; shift the focus from managing threats to creating opportunities.Practical implicationsIt is in both employers' and employees' interest to make the best use of employees of all ages and to manage employees in accordance with individual attributes and capacities rather than by making assumptions based on age.Originality/valueThe article frames the issues and sets the stage for a more positive approach towards older workers.

PurposeThis study aims to test a model of the relationships among older workers' propensity to engage in development activities (development orientation), their perceptions of the development opportunities associated with their job (job development climate), their commitment to their organization, and their intention to remain with their organization.Design/methodology/approachSeparate questionnaires were completed by 395 individuals aged 50 to 70, who were in their career job and 195 individuals aged 50 to 70 who were employed in a bridge job. Both questionnaires included measures of development orientation, job development climate, affective commitment and intention to remain as well as individual characteristics and organizational characteristics.FindingsThe findings supported the proposed model in that development orientation was positively related to job development climate which, in turn, was positively related to affective commitment and affective commitment was positively related to intention to remain with the organization. There were both similarities and differences in the patterns of relationships for career‐job and bridge‐job respondents.Research limitations/implicationsThe question of causality cannot be determined because of the cross‐sectional research design.Practical implicationsTo create a supportive development climate and retain older workers, employers need to foster older workers' development orientation and ensure that their work assignments provide opportunities to learn new knowledge and skills.Orginality/valueThere is little empirical research addressing issues related to the development and retention of older workers. No previous studies have investigated both development orientation and job development climate in the context of older workers.

PurposeThe paper's aim is to introduce the interactive acculturation model (IAM) of Bourhiset al.to predict how disconcordance in acculturation orientations between host community and immigrant workers relates to the quality of intergroup work‐relations.Design/methodology/approachThe sample consisted of 141 host community (Dutch) and 41 non‐western immigrant workers of a postal service company who filled out a questionnaire. Methods of analyses include analysis of variance and multiple regression.FindingsIn line with the IAM, results showed that a higher disconcordance in preferred acculturation orientations between host community and immigrant workers related to a poorer quality of intergroup work‐relations. However, intergroup contact moderated this relationship differently for host community and immigrant workers.Research limitations/implicationsData are cross‐sectional and collected in one organization. Future studies should replicate the findings to other organizational contexts, cultural groups, and collect longitudinal data to determine causal effects.Practical implicationsOrganizations should monitor disconcordance in acculturation orientations amongst host community and immigrant workers. A multicultural culture in organizations may reduce disconcordance in acculturation orientations between host community and immigrant workers.Originality/valueThe paper helps to explain the mixed findings in cultural diversity research so far, by demonstrating that disconcordance in acculturation orientations relates negatively to intergroup work‐relations in a multicultural workplace.

PurposeThe purspose of this study is to examine the interplay between job resources (job control and support for creativity from coworkers and supervisors), age and creativity at work. Job control and support for creativity are assumed to benefit idea creativity and to moderate the relationship between age and idea creativity.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 117 nurses completed questionnaire measures and reported a creative idea they recently had at work. Three subject matter experts rated the creativity of the ideas. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test hypotheses.FindingsJob control and support for creativity as well as age were unrelated to idea creativity. However, job control and support for creativity moderated the relationship between age and idea creativity. Age was positively related to idea creativity under high job control and negatively related to idea creativity under low job control and low support for creativity.Research limitations/implicationsA potentially selective sample due to systematic drop‐outs and a selection effect of older nurses might limit the generalizability of our results. Future research should examine the mechanisms that explain the moderating effect of job resources in the relationship between age and performance.Practical implicationsOlder employees' creativity at work can be raised by fostering support for creativity from coworkers and supervisors. Younger employees should get support to deal with a high level of job control, because their creativity is lowest under a high level of job control.Originality/valueUsing data from multiple sources the study shows that different constellations of job resources benefit older and younger employees' creativity at work.

"For as long as mankind has existed, people have worked. Needless to say the nature of work has changed tremendously: our distant ancestors were mostly hunters and collectors, but nowadays people work with data, 'goods' or other people, or provide services. What has not changed is that we still spend a substantial part of our lives working. It is therefore not surprising that some people's work is about understanding the nature and conditions of the work of others in an attempt to explain, predict and improve it. These are work psychologists, teachers, trainers and practitioners in work psychology, as well as those who study the phenomenon of work and worker behavior: the researchers"--

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the crossover specificity of team‐level stressors to individual‐level work‐family conflict.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes the form of a multilevel analyses with data from 428 employees of a Dutch municipality working in 49 teams.FindingsThe results indicate the expected crossover specificity of different types of work‐family conflicts. After controlling for individual‐level demands there is little evidence that team‐level work demands influence work‐family conflict (WFC) or family‐work conflict (FWC), but team‐level WFC and FWC do influence individual‐level WFC and FWC, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper distinguishes two types of WFC, but it did not distinguish between strain‐ and time‐based conflicts. Further, it did not pay attention to individual differences (e.g., susceptibility to distress of team members), although such differences may be important moderators of the crossover process.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first that empirically linked team‐level stressors and WFC to individual‐level WFC and that tested crossover specificity. Findings indicated the associations of team‐level WFC and FWC and focal employees' WFC and FWC respectively, thereby underscoring the importance of crossover specificity.

PurposeLittle is known about the motivation for older workers to work and to remain active in the labor market. Research on age and motivation is limited and, moreover, conceptually diverse. This paper aims to address age‐related factors that influence the work motivation of older workers. More specifically, it seeks to examine how various conceptualizations of the age factor affect the direction and termination of the motivation to continue to work of older workers.Design/methodology/approachA literature review of age‐related factors and motivation to continue to work is the approach taken in the paper.FindingsResults from 24 empirical and nine conceptual studies indicate that most age‐related factors can have a negative impact on the motivation to continue to work of older people. These findings suggest that age‐related factors are important in understanding older workers' motivation to continue to work and that further research is needed to more fully understand the underlying processes that govern how these age‐related factors influence the motivation to continue to work.Research limitations/implicationsBased on the aforementioned findings, the paper was able to formulate a research agenda for future research, such as: a need for a meta‐analysis on age and motivation to determine the actual effect sizes, and additional theoretical attention to the underlying age‐related processes.Practical implicationsAge‐related factors identified in this study, such as declining health and career plateaus, should be addressed by HRM policies. HRM practices that could motivate older workers to continue to work include ergonomic adjustments and continuous career development.Originality/valueResearch on age and motivation is limited and conceptually diverse. This paper is one of the first studies to explore the relations between different conceptualizations of age and motivation.

PurposeThe aim is to examine the shifting effects of retirement expectations and social support on adjustment three and half and ten months post‐retirement.Design/methodology/approachFor the purpose of this study, the authors used a survey methodology. Expectations regarding retirement and social support were used to predict three facets of satisfaction post‐retirement; life satisfaction, retirement satisfaction, and social satisfaction.FindingsResults suggested that expectations consistently and significantly predicted satisfaction early and later in retirement. Social support was only a significant antecedent of retirement satisfaction at time 2, and had a non‐significant relationship to social and life satisfaction in retirement.Practical implicationsResults support the view that retirement expectations have a strong influence on retirement, life, and social satisfaction in the first year of an individual's retirement.Originality/valueThe paper's findings imply that interventions designed to create realistic expectations of the retirement experience may have a positive impact on adjustment.