Older and More Engaged: The Mediating Role of Age‐Linked Resources on Work Engagement

• Date: 01 September 2017
• Published date: 01 September 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21802

Human Resource Management, September–October 2017, Vol. 56, No. 5. Pp. 731–746

© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI:10.1002/hrm.21802

Correspondence to: Seung-Wan Kang, Gachon University, College of Business, 1342 Seongnamdaero,

Sujeong-Gu, Seongnam City, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea 13120, Ph: +82-31-750-5219, Fax: +82-31-750-5152,

E-mail: global7@gachon.ac.kr.

OLDER AND MORE ENGAGED:

THE MEDIATING ROLE OF AGE-

LINKED RESOURCES ON WORK

ENGAGEMENT

NAJUNG KIM AND SEUNG-WAN KANG

In the era of a graying workforce, individuals and their employers are concerned

with the impact of the graying workforce on the level of engagement at work.

Contrary to the myths about older workers being less engaged, statistics have

shown that the level of engagement is higher as people age. Within the broad

framework of conservation of resources theory in the area of work engagement,

the current study aims to clarify how older workers are more engaged at work

than younger workers. Building upon socioemotional selectivity theory and

continuity theory from a life-span perspective, we explain how individuals gain

more resources as they age, including the abilities to regulate emotion and to

maintain a career identity. We argue that this positive relationship between age

and resources explains why older people have high levels of work engagement.

We tested our predictions with a sample of 613 workers in the United States.

The study demonstrates that well-regulated emotion and strong commitment

to career mediate the positive relationship between age and work engagement

simultaneously. These fi ndings contribute to the understanding of an aging work-

force’s engagement in the workplace. ©2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: age, aging workforce, career identity, conservation of resources

theory, emotion regulation, work engagement

It is well known that the workforce is aging

(Japan Statistics Bureau, 2013; Shultz & Adams,

2007; Sterns & Miklos, 1995; US Bureau of

Labor Statistics, 2014). The share of those

aged 55 years and over in the US labor force

increased from 11.8 percent in the early 1990s to

20.9 percent in 2012, and according to the recent

analysis of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics,

the number is projected to increase to 25.6 per-

cent in seven years (Toossi, 2013). Moreover,

this trend is prevalent in most industrialized

countries. For instance, between 2012 and 2013,

the population aged 65 and over increased by

3.59 percent in Japan despite the fact that the

total population has been continuously decreas-

ing (Japan Statistics Bureau, 2013). Similarly, the

median age of the EU-28’s population has been

continuously increasing and was recorded as

41.9 years on January 1, 2013 (Eurostat, 2015).

This is a stable trend, and the labor force par-

ticipation rate of those 65 and over is projected

to steadily increase in industrialized countries

732 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2017

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

One of the biggest

concerns of HR

practitioners

related to the aging

workforce is “to

engage their older

workers and leverage

the unique talents

of each generation

in today’s diverse,

multigenerational

workforce.”

to stay resilient (Fredrickson, 1998). Continuity

theory describes how individuals maintain their

career identities post-retirement and deliberately

choose to continue working in the same area

(Gobeski & Beehr, 2009). This strong identifi-

cation with their careers can prevent individu-

als from experiencing burnout at work (Wilk &

Moynihan, 2005) and may even increase the level

of work engagement. We investigate whether the

positive relationship between age and these two

types of resources explains why older people have

higher levels of work engagement.

In their recent conceptual piece, Ng and

Feldman (2013) highlighted the need for explor-

ing various mechanisms through which age

affects work-related outcomes. Echoing their con-

cern, our research contributes to the literature

on work engagement by identifying the mediat-

ing mechanisms that clarify the counterintuitive

relationship between age and work engagement.

This study also extends the COR model of work

engagement by identifying new forms or types

of resources. Most of the extant literature stud-

ied self-efficacy, organizational-based self-esteem,

and optimism as resources that facilitate work

engagement (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti,

& Schaufeli, 2007), but in this study, emotion

regulation and career identity are examined as

resources associated with aging that can increase

work engagement as one ages. Hence, we propose

a model of age–work engagement with emotion

regulation and career identity as simultaneous

mediators (see Figure 1).

Theoretical Background and Hypotheses

Conservation of Resources Theory

and Age-Related Changes in Resources

from a Life-Span Perspective

Work engagement is defined as “an active, positive

work-related state that is characterized by vigor,

dedication, and absorption” (Bakker, 2011, p. 265).

Vigor refers to the willingness to maintain persis-

tence and effort in the face of adversity, character-

ized by high levels of energy and mental resilience.

(United Nations, Department of Economic and

Social Affairs, Population Division, 2013). One of

the biggest concerns of HR practitioners related

to the aging workforce is “to engage their older

workers and leverage the unique talents of each

generation in today’s diverse, multigenerational

workforce” (Jackson & Jenkins, 2014, p. 3).

However, contrary to assumptions and con-

cerns regarding older workers, findings from mul-

tiple surveys show that older people are in fact

more engaged than younger people (e.g., James,

Besen, Matz-Costa, & Pitt-Catsouphes, 2010,

2012; James, McKechnie, & Swanberg, 2011;

Pitt-Catsouphes & Matz-Costa, 2008; Robinson,

Perryman, & Hayday, 2004; Towers Perrin, 2005).

Thus, the purpose of our research is to contribute

to the literature on work engagement by examin-

ing this seemingly counterintuitive

relationship between age and work

engagement.

Reviewing prior research, we

noticed that while the data of con-

temporary studies dispel all the

myths about older workers and,

rather, show how older workers have

a significantly higher level of work

engagement than younger workers

(e.g., James et al., 2010, 2012), the

mechanism that explains the posi-

tive relationship between age and

work engagement has not been

explored. Considering how engage-

ment can affect various HR-related

issues including knowledge shar-

ing (Minbaeva, Mäkelä, & Rabbiosi,

2012) and performance (Alfes, Truss,

Soane, Rees, & Gatenby, 2013),

identifying the mechanisms that

explain this age–work engagement

relationship is crucial, especially in

this aging work environment. Grounded in con-

servation of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll,

1989, 2001) and a resource-focused perspective

on work engagement, we turn to the literature

on socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen,

1992) and continuity theory (Atchley, 1989) from

a life-span perspective, and introduce two types of

resources that are associated with aging. The theo-

ries of Carstensen (1992) and Atchley (1989) hint

at the resources that may increase as one ages.

Socioemotional selectivity theory explains how

individuals regulate their emotions better as they

age (Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999),

and well-regulated emotion—termed “emotion

regulation” (Carstensen, Fung, & Charles, 2003,

p. 103)—can help individuals successfully con-

trol their environment and build more resources

FIGURE 1. Hypothesized Multiple Mediation Model of

Age–Work Engagement

Age

Career

identity

Emotion

regulation

Work

engagement