On the Interactive Effects of Objective and Subjective Age on Work Outcomes for Men and Women

Based upon theory on successful aging at work and the social identity of age, we hypothesized interactive effects of sex, objective chronological age, and subjective psychological/organizational age on age-based stereotype ratings of older workers, psychological well-being including both burnout and self-esteem, and behavioral self-reports of perceived unfair age and sex discrimination. ….Both psychological and organizational age interacted with chronological age such that different patterns of outcomes were found for men and women. Overall, although older subjective age benefited chronologically older workers, these interactive associations were less beneficial for older women as compared to older men. Implications of study findings for theory and practice are discussed.