While utility analysis is often encouraged as the "final step" necessary in any evaluation of a human resources intervention (e.g., selection, training, performance evaluation program), anecdotal evidence appears to suggest that, in practice, it is rarely done, particularly in the public sector. Therefore, a brief history and nontechnical explanation of utility analysis is provided. Several examples from the literature are given. In addition, current issues and keys to more successful implementation are discussed in order to acknowledge the realities of trying to incorporate utility analyses into the evaluation of human resources programs in applied settings. It is hoped that increased awareness of these critical issues and potential roadblocks to the use of utility analysis will increase its use and ultimately improve our ability to critically assess and continually improve the success of our human resources.
Introduction and overview -- Recruiting and retaining older employees : planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating programs -- Diversity issues for an aging workforce : a lifespan intersectionality approach -- An expanded view of age bias in the workplace -- Legal issues and the aging workforce -- Employee age and performance in organizations -- Age and work attitudes -- Employee development and training issues related to the aging workplace -- Career embeddedness and career crafting among older workers -- Aging and occupational health -- Age and technology for work -- Age and work-family issues -- Retirement from three perspectives : individuals, organizations, and society -- Global issues in work, aging, and retirement
The article considers the arguments that have been made in defence of social media screening as well as issues that arise and may effectively erode the reliability and utility of such data for employers. First, the authors consider existing legal frameworks and guidelines that are present in the UK and the USA, as well as the subsequent ethical concerns that arise when employers access and use social networking content for employment purposes. Second, several arguments in favour of the use of social networking content are made, each of which is considered from several angles, including concerns about impression management, bias and discrimination, data protection and security. Ultimately, the current state of knowledge does not provide a definite answer as to whether information from social networks is helpful in recruitment and selection.
Laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as well as subsequent legal sanctions, appear to have had limited success in substantially increasing the number of persons with disabilities within the employment context. Therefore, it is critical that a better understanding be developed of both the physical and attitudinal barriers persons with disabilities face with regard to gaining such employment. The present study was conducted to examine how the origin of an applicant's disability, the status of the job being applied for, and the level of test accommodation to be provided influenced perceptions of what was a reasonable pre-employment testing accommodation. Human resources testing professionals from both the public and private sectors rated how reasonable they perceived a variety of testing accommodations to be. The results reveal that origin of disability, job status, and level of accommodation all affected how reasonable a given testing accommodation was perceived to be and that there was significant interaction effects for all three factors. The results of this study also support Stone and Colella's model of the complex nature of workers' reactions to individuals with disabilities in organizations. The implications of the study, as well as needs for future research, are also discussed.
Applicants for the jobs of engineering aide and plumber with a large public employer were asked to provide their assessments of the perceived fairness of two different HR selection devices—a background information form and a written job knowledge test. Significant differences were found in the applicants' perceptions of the fairness of the two selection devices. In addition, the differences found depended on the classification of the job for which individuals were applying. Specifically, engineering aide applicants saw the background information inventory as more just, while plumber applicants preferred the written exam. Implications of the results for HR selection are discussed.
This new book looks at the unique career issues faced by those workers in their mid and late career stages, particularly with regard to the psychosocial dynamics of mid and late careers. With the growth in aging workers worldwide, we need a deeper understanding of the unique challenges and issues as well as the practical implications related to the shifting demographics to an older workforce, particularly the aging of the baby boom generation. This book reviews, summarizes and integrates the literature on a wide variety of issues and organizational realities related to these workers. Numerous.
PurposeTechnology and globalization of services have facilitated the digitalization of many processes at work. However, their impact on social capital is unknown. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between virtuality in the workplace and social capital.Design/methodology/approachUsing an online survey, the authors recruited 152 female student workers using an opportunity sampling approach.FindingsParticipants who used social media at work (n=112) reported higher social capital overall than participants who did not use any social media to communicate with colleagues at work (n=40). This difference also presented itself in terms of the social capital subscales (network ties, shared vision and trust). Mediation analysis conducted with users of social media at work revealed that social media use was a significant mediator in the relationship between virtuality at work and social capital overall (partial mediation). Subsequent analyses with the subscales for virtuality and social capital suggested full mediation of the relationship in most instances (with the exception of work practices).Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine the relationship between virtuality, social media and social capital at work. The result of this study suggests that social media use at work between colleagues can play a significant role in promoting social capital in workplaces that are heavily reliant on technological application to support interactions at work and feature geographical and temporal dispersion.
Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of personal motivational goals and the corresponding occupational characteristics of volunteer, work-related activities in retirement with life and work satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach– Fully retired individuals working for a non-profit organization in their former professional career field on a non-paid basis were surveyed using an online survey (n=661) to assess their motivational goals, the occupational characteristics of their projects, and satisfaction with life and work.Findings– Results suggested that post-retirement volunteer workers differentiated between perceived life and work satisfaction. The motives of achievement, appreciation, autonomy, contact, and generativity significantly directly affected life satisfaction and indirectly affected work satisfaction. Occupational characteristics assessing achievement, appreciation, autonomy, contact, and generativity had direct effects on work satisfaction but not on life satisfaction except for occupational autonomy.Research limitations/implications– The study was cross-sectional and based on self-report data of highly educated German retirees working in volunteer professional positions, thus potentially limiting the generalizability of findings.Practical implications– Organizations should enable post-retirement volunteer workers to meet their motivation goals by designing work opportunities to fulfill the motivational goals of achievement, appreciation, autonomy, contact, and generativity.Social implications– Post-retirement activities possess the potential to help solve societal problems by countering the shortage of specialists and managers at the same time that the burden on social security systems is reduced.Originality/value– The paper presents evidence that different personal motivational goals and occupational characteristics are important in post-retirement activities. The findings imply that work designs created for post-retirement activities should provide a variety of occupational characteristics, such as occupational achievement and appreciation.
As a result of a shortage of qualified applicants and the changing nature of the demographic composition of the workforce, there has been a recent increase in interest among human resource professionals in the targeting of recruitment efforts toward specific subgroups of the population. Based on the professional literature, this article discusses principles for the recruitment of Older Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and members of racial and ethnic minority groups.
