Older adults constitute an increasingly large share of the workforce. Older workers often contribute positively to organizational outcomes through characteristics such as deep organizational knowledge and long-standing client relationships. Thus, it is important to understand how to maintain or increase older workers’ job satisfaction, a variable that has been linked to positive work outcomes. In this study, several hypotheses regarding job satisfaction and age were derived from Carstensen’s socioemotional selectivity theory and were tested using longitudinal analysis of a cross-sequential sample. Supporting socioemotional selectivity theory, results showed that autonomy became increasingly important to job satisfaction as workers age. Contrary to the theory, annual income also became increasingly important to job satisfaction. We discuss the importance of our findings for theory, research, and practice.
AARP. (2013). Staying ahead of the curve 2013: Snapshot of the wants and needs of older workers.
Washington, DC:
Author.
2.
AlexopoulosE. C.PalatsidiV.TiganiX.DarviriC. (2014).
Exploring stress levels, job satisfaction, and quality of life in a sample of police officers in Greece. Safety and Health at Work,
5, 210–215.
3.
BacharachS. B.BambergerP.ConleyS. (1991).
Work–home conflict among nurses and engineers: Mediating the impact of role stress on burnout and Satisfaction at work. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
12, 39–53.
4.
BegleyT. M.CzajkaJ. M. (1993).
Panel analysis of the moderating effects of commitment on job satisfaction, intent to quit, and health following organizational change. Journal of Applied Psychology,
78, 552–556.
5.
BesenE.Matz-CostaC.BrownM.SmyerM. A.Pitt-CatsouphesM. (2013).
Job characteristics, core self-evaluations, and job satisfaction: What’s age got to do with it?The International Journal of Aging & Human Development,
76, 269–295.
6.
BlauG. (1993).
Further exploring the relationship between job search and voluntary individual turnover. Personnel Psychology,
46, 313–330.
7.
BluedornA. C. (1982).
A unified model of turnover from organizations. Human Relations,
35, 135–153.
8.
BluenS. D.BarlingJ.BurnsW. (1990).
Predicting sales performance, job satisfaction, and depression by using the achievement strivings and impatience-irritability dimensions of Type A behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology,
75, 212–216.
9.
BoumansN. P. G.De JongA. H. J.JanssenS. M. (2011).
Age-differences in work motivation and job satisfaction: The influence of age on the relationships between work characteristics and workers’ outcomes. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development,
73, 331–350.
10.
CammannC.FichmanM.JenkinsD. J.KleshJ. R. (1983). Assessing the attitudes and perceptions of organizational members. In SeashoreS. D.LawlerE. E.MirvisP. H.CammannC. (Eds.), Assessing organizational change.
New York, NY:
Wiley.
11.
CampionM. A. (1988).
Interdisciplinary approaches to job design: A constructive replication with extensions. Journal of Applied Psychology,
73, 467–481.
12.
CarstensenL. L. (1993). Motivation for social contact across the life span: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. In JacobsJ. E. (Ed.) Nebraska symposium on motivation: 1992, developmental perspectives on motivation (Vol. 40, pp. 209–254).
Lincoln, NE:
University of Nebraska Press.
13.
CarstensenL. L.MikelsJ. A.MatherM. (2006). Aging and the intersection of cognition, motivation, and emotion. In BirrenJames E.Warner SchaieK. (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (6th ed., pp. 343–362).
San Diego, CA:
Elsevier.
14.
ChampouxJ. E. (1991).
A multivariate test of the job characteristics theory of work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
12, 431–446.
15.
CharlesS. T.CarstensenL. L. (2010).
Social and emotional aging. Annual Review of Psychology,
61, 383–409.
16.
ChenP. Y.SpectorP. E. (1992).
Relationships of work stressors with aggression, withdrawal, theft and substance use: An exploratory study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,
65, 177–184.
17.
CohenA.GolanR. (2007).
Predicting absenteeism and turnover intentions by past absenteeism and work attitudes: An empirical examination of female employees in long term nursing care facilities. Career Development International,
12, 416–432.
18.
CramptonS. M.WagnerJ. A., I. I. (1994).
Percept-percept inflation in microorganizational research: An investigation of prevalence and effect. Journal of Applied Psychology,
79, 67–76.
19.
CrookT. R.ToddS. Y.CombsJ. G.WoehrD. J.KetchenD. J. (2011).
Does human capital matter? A meta-analysis of the relationship between human capital and firm performance. Journal of Applied Psychology,
96, 443–456.
20.
EbnerN. C.FreundA. M.BaltesP. B. (2006).
Developmental changes in personal goal orientation from young to late adulthood: From striving for gains to maintenance and prevention of losses. Psychology and Aging,
21, 664–2.
21.
EriksonE. (1964). Insight and responsibility.
New York, NY:
Norton.
FisherG. G.MatthewsR. A.GibbonsA. M. (2016).
Developing and investigating the use of single-item measures in organizational research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,
21, 3–23.
24.
FoxM. L.DwyerD. J.GansterD. C. (1993).
Effects of stressful job demands and control on physiological and attitudinal outcomes in a hospital setting. Academy of Management Journal,
36, 289–318.
25.
FreundA. M. (2006).
Age-differential motivational consequences of optimization versus compensation focus in younger and older adults. Psychology and Aging,
21, 240–252.
26.
FriedY.FerrisG. R. (1987).
The validity of the job characteristics model: A review and meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology,
40, 287–322.
27.
GrossmanR. J. (2013).
Invest in older workers. HR Magazine,
58, 20–25.
28.
HackmanJ. R.OldhamG. R. (1975).
Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology,
60, 159–170.
29.
HackmanJ. R.OldhamG. R. (1976).
Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance,
16, 250–279.
30.
HammerT. H.LandauJ. (1981).
Methodological issues in the use of absence data. Journal of Applied Psychology,
66, 574–581.
31.
HarterJ. K.SchmidtF. L.HayesT. L. (2002).
Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology,
87, 268–279.
32.
HulinC. L.RoznowskiM.HachiyaD. (1985).
Alternative opportunities and withdrawal decisions: Empirical and theoretical discrepancies and an integration. Psychological Bulletin,
97, 233–250.
33.
JexS. M.GudanowskiD. M. (1992).
Efficacy beliefs and work stress: An exploratory study. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
13, 509–517.
34.
JudgeT. A.ChurchA. H. (2000). Job satisfaction: Research and practice. In CooperC. L.LockeE. A. (Eds.), Industrial and organizational psychology: Linking theory with practice (pp. 166–198).
Oxford, England:
Blackwell.
35.
JudgeT. A.ThoresenC. J.BonoJ. E.PattonG. K. (2001).
The job satisfaction–job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin,
127, 376–407.
36.
JudgeT. A.WatanabeS. (1993).
Another look at the job satisfaction-life satisfaction relationship. Journal of Applied Psychology,
78, 939–948.
37.
JurgensenC. E. (1978).
Job preferences (What makes a job good or bad?). Journal of Applied Psychology,
63, 267–276.
38.
KanferR.AckermanP. L. (2004).
Aging, adult development, and work motivation. Academy of Management Review,
29, 440–458.
39.
KayF. M. (2008).
Professional monopolies and divisive practices in law: ‘les femmes juridiques’ in civil law, Canada. International Journal of Law in Context,
4, 187–215.
40.
KeenanA.NewtonT. J. (1984).
Frustration in organizations: Relationships to role stress, climate, and psychological strain. Journal of Occupational Psychology,
57, 57–65.
41.
KnightN. E. (1990). Student perceptions of college work-study experiences at Iowa State University: A descriptive analysis. Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 16774. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/16774.
42.
KooijD.de LangeA.JansenP.DikkersJ. (2007).
Older workers’ motivation to continue to work: Five meanings of age. Journal of Managerial Psychology,
23, 364–394.
43.
KoysD. J. (2001).
The effects of employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover on organizational effectiveness: A unit-level, longitudinal analysis. Personnel Psychology,
54, 101–114.
44.
LanceC. E.LautenschlagerG. J.SloanC. E.VarcaP. E. (1989). A comparison between bottom-up, top-down, and bidirectional models of relationships between global and life facet satisfaction. Journal of Personality,
57, 601–624.
45.
LathamG. P.PinderC. C. (2005).
Work motivation theory and research at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Annual Review of Psychology,
56, 485–516.
46.
LeeC.AshfordS. J.BobkoP. (1990).
Interactive effects of “Type A” behavior and perceived control on worker performance, job satisfaction, and somatic complaints. Academy of Management Journal,
33, 870–881.
47.
LeeR. T.AshforthB. E. (1993).
A further examination of managerial burnout: Toward an integrated model. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
14, 3–20.
48.
LeeJ.ChoD.SuhY. J. (2017).
Purpose and meaning in life and job satisfaction among the aged. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development,
85, 377–402.
49.
LePineJ. A.ErezA.JohnsonD. E. (2002).
A meta-analysis of the dimensionality of organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology,
87, 52–65.
50.
LinzS. J. (2004).
Motivating Russian workers: Analysis of gender and age differences. Journal of Socioeconomics,
33, 261–289.
51.
LoherB. T.NoeR. A.MoellerN. L.FitzgeraldM. P. (1985).
A meta-analysis of the relation of job characteristics to job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology,
70, 280–289.
52.
LordR. L. (2004). Empirical evaluation of classical behavioural theories with respect to the motivation of older knowledge workers (Dissertation). University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
53.
LoscoccoK. A.KallebergA. L. (1988).
Age and the meaning of work in the United States and Japan. Social Forces,
67, 337–356.
54.
MaslachC.SchaufeliW. B.LeiterM. P. (2001).
Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology,
52, 397–422.
55.
McAdamsD. P.de St. AubinE. (Eds.). (1998). Generativity and adult development.
Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
56.
McAdamsD. P.de St. AubinE.LoganR. L. (1993).
Generativity among young, midlife, and older adults. Psychology and Aging,
8, 221–230.
57.
McNeelyB. L.MeglinoB. M. (1994).
The role of dispositional and situational antecedents in prosocial organizational behavior: An examination of the intended beneficiaries of prosocial behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology,
79, 836–844.
58.
MessersmithJ. G.PatelP. C.LepakD. P.Gould-WilliamsJ. S. (2011).
Unlocking the black box: Exploring the link between high-performance work systems and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology,
96, 1105–1118.
59.
MobleyW. H.GriffethR. W.HandH. H.MeglinoB. M. (1979).
Review and conceptual analysis of the employee turnover process. Psychological Bulletin,
86, 493–522.
60.
Mount, M. K., and Barrick, M. R. (1995). The big five personality dimensions: Implications for research and practice in human resources management. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 13(3), 153–200.
61.
NgT. W. H., & FeldmanD. C. (2008).
The relationship of age to ten dimensions of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology,
93, 392–2.
62.
NgT. W. H.FeldmanD. C. (2010).
The relationships of age with job attitudes: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology,
63, 677–718.
63.
NgT. W. H.FeldmanD. C. (2012).
Evaluating six common stereotypes about older workers with meta-analytical data. Personnel Psychology,
65, 821–858.
64.
O’DriscollM. P.BeehrT. A. (1994).
Supervisor behaviors, role stressors and uncertainty as predictors of personal outcomes for subordinates. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
15, 141–155.
65.
OldhamG. R. (1976).
Job characteristics and internal motivation: The moderating effects of interpersonal and individual variables. Human Relations,
29, 559–569.
66.
OrganD. W.RyanK. (1995).
A meta-analytic review of attitudinal and dispositional predictors of organizational citizenship behavior. Personnel Psychology,
48, 775–802.
67.
OstroffC. (1992).
The relationship between satisfaction, attitudes, and performance: An organizational level analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology,
77, 963–974.
68.
PaggiM. E.JoppD. S. (2015).
Outcomes of occupational self-efficacy in older workers. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development,
80, 357–378.
69.
PalmoreE. (1969).
Predicting longevity: A follow-up controlling for age. The Gerontologist,
9, 247–250.
70.
RainJ. S.LaneI. M.SteinerD. D. (1991).
A current look at job satisfaction/life satisfaction relationship: Review and future considerations. Human Relations,
44, 287–305.
71.
RhodesS. R. (1983).
Age-related differences in work attitudes and behavior. A review and conceptual analysis. Psychological Bulletin,
93, 328–367.
72.
RikettaM. (2008).
The causal relation between job attitudes and performance: A meta-analysis of panel studies. Journal of Applied Psychology,
93, 472–481.
73.
RobertsB. A.FuhrerR.MarmotM.RichardsM. (2011).
Does retirement influence cognitive performance? The Whitehall II study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health,
65, 958–963.
74.
RusbultC. E.FarrellD. (1983).
A longitudinal test of the investment model: The impact on job satisfaction, job commitment, and investments. Journal of Applied Psychology,
68, 429–438.
75.
ScarpelloV.CampbellJ. P. (1983).
Job satisfaction: Are all the parts there?Personnel Psychology,
36, 577–600.
76.
SchaubroeckJ.GangsterD. C.FoxM. L. (1992).
Dispositional affect and work-related stress. Journal of Applied Psychology,
77, 322–335.
77.
ShiromA. (1989). Burnout in work organizations. In CopperC. L.RobertsonI. T. (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 25–48).
Chichester, England:
Wiley.
78.
ShoreL. M.NewtonL. A.ThorntonG. C., I. I. (1990).
Job and organizational attitudes in relation to employee behavioral intentions. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
11, 57–67.
79.
SpectorP. E. (1988).
Development of the work locus of control scale. Journal of Occupational Psychology,
61, 335–340.
80.
SpectorP. E. (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes and consequences.
Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE.
81.
SteersR. M.RhodesS. (1978).
Major influences on employee attendance: A process model. Journal of Applied Psychology,
63, 391–407.
82.
TettR. P.MeyerJ. P. (1993).
Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and turnover: Path analysis based on meta-analytic findings. Personnel Psychology,
46, 259–293.
83.
TharenouP. (1993).
A test of reciprocal causality for absenteeism. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
14, 269–290.
TowlerA.KraigerK.SitzmannT.Van OverbergheC.CruzJ.RonenE.StewartD. (2008).
The seductive details effect in technology-delivered instruction. Performance Improvement Quarterly,
21, 1–23.
86.
TruxilloD. M.CadizD. M.HammerL. B. (2015).
Supporting the aging workforce: A review and recommendations for workplace intervention research. Annual. Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior,
2, 351–381.
VanDerheiJ. (2010).
Retirement savings shortfalls for today’s workers. Employee Benefit Research Institute: Notes,
31, 2–9.
89.
WanousJ. P.ReichersA. E.HudyM. J. (1997).
Overall job satisfaction: How good are single-item measures?Journal of Applied Psychology,
82, 247–252.
90.
WarrP. (1997). Age, work and mental health. In SchaieK. W.SchoolerW. I. E. (Eds.), The impact of work on older adults (pp. 252–296).
New York, NY:
Springer.
91.
WeaverC. N. (1978).
Job satisfaction as a component of happiness among males and females. Personnel Psychology,
31, 831–840.
92.
WeissD. J.DawisR. V.EnglandG. W.LofquistL. H. (1967). Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation, No. 22. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
93.
WhitmanD. S.van RooyD. L.ViswesvaranC. (2010).
Satisfaction, citizenship behaviors, and performance in work units: A meta-analysis of collective construct relations. Personnel Psychology,
63, 41–81.
