Rita Chiesa, Stefano Toderi, Paola Dordoni, Kene Henkens, Elena Maria Fiabane and Ilaria Setti
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between organizational age stereotypes and occupational self-efficacy. First, the authors intend to test the measurement…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between organizational age stereotypes and occupational self-efficacy. First, the authors intend to test the measurement invariance of Henkens’s (2005) age stereotypes scale across two age group, respectively, under 50 and 50 years and older. Then, the moderator role of age groups in the relationship between age stereotypes and occupational self-efficacy is investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey involved a large sample of 4,667 Italian bank sector’s employees.
Findings
The results show the invariance of the three dimensional structure of organizational stereotypes towards older workers scale: productivity, reliability and adaptability. Furthermore, the moderation is confirmed: the relationship between organizational age stereotypes and occupational self-efficacy is significant only for older respondents.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies should aim to replicate the findings with longitudinal designs.
Practical implications
The study suggests the importance to emphasize the positive characteristics of older workers and to reduce the presence of negative age stereotypes in the workplace, especially in order to foster the occupational self-efficacy of older workers.
Originality/value
The findings are especially relevant in view of the lack of evidence about the relationship between age stereotypes and occupational self-efficacy.
Details
Keywords
Ilaria Setti, Paola Dordoni, Beatrice Piccoli, Massimo Bellotto and Piergiorgio Argentero
This paper aims at examining the relationship between proactive personality and training motivation among older workers (aged over 55 years) in a context characterized by the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at examining the relationship between proactive personality and training motivation among older workers (aged over 55 years) in a context characterized by the growing ageing of the global population. First, the authors hypothesized that proactive personality predicts the motivation to learn among older workers and that this relationship is mediated by goal orientation. In particular, the authors hypothesized that learning goal orientation may mediate the relationship between proactive personality and learning motivation.
Design/methodology/approach
The employees of an Italian bank completed an online questionnaire. AMOS 17 was used to carry out confirmatory factor analysis, and the SPSS macro was used to test the meditational model.
Findings
The results confirmed both the hypotheses, demonstrating the influence of proactive personality on training motivation of older workers, as mediated by goal orientation and, in particular, by learning goal orientation.
Practical implications
From an applicative point of view, this study may have implications for organizations that aim to increase the employability of older people by encouraging them to undertake more training. In particular, interventions aimed at increasing learning goal orientation could contribute in strengthening proactive personality that, in turn, may affect levels of training motivation.
Originality/value
Even if proactive personality has already been found as a predictor of learning motivation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study demonstrates that the relationship between proactive personality and training motivation is mediated by goal orientation among older workers.