8th Biennial ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference

Older employees are stereotyped as resistant to change, less capable, and technophobic (Posthuma & Campion, 2009). Encountering negative stereotypes can make older employees susceptible to age-based stereotype threat, or the concern about being reduced to a negative stereotype (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Older employees’ experiences of stereotype threat were associated with poorer job attitudes and greater intentions to quit (Kulik et al., 2016; von Hippel et al., 2013; 2019). These negative workplace outcomes are particularly problematic in the context of the global labor shortage – a time where better engaging and retaining the aging workforce may help with labor supply and supporting the economy. Although the consequences of stereotype threat are well documented, we know little about what factors can trigger age-based stereotype threat in the workplace. Drawing on three major theories (stereotype threat, socioemotional selectivity, and social comparison theories), we developed and tested a range of potential workplace antecedents. Given that organizations are multi-level systems, researchers have called for greater practice of multi-level perspectives in organizational research (Kozlowski & Klein, 2000; Costa et al., 2013). Our research examines stereotype threat at a higher level of analysis than conducted historically, by collecting multi-source data from both the individual and organisational level.

We tested our predictions across two studies among members of an ageing advocacy group and 24 government councils, totalling 1086 older employees. At the individual level, both studies identified 10 key antecedents associated with greater feelings of stereotype threat for older employees (e.g., being overlooked for training opportunities, feeling excluded from the informal social aspects of the workplace). Consistent with previous work, stereotype threat was associated with poorer job attitudes and greater intentions to quit. To reduce concerns of common method variance and investigate how organisational level variables impact older employees’ feelings of stereotype threat, we also collected data from younger co-workers (40 years old and under; N = 214) and the HR representative from each council. The extent to which the younger co-workers endorsed stereotypes about older workers and the extent to which councils offered HR programs unique to older employees (e.g., phased retirement) were not associated with older employees’ stereotype threat. The low intra-class correlations (.04 and .05) indicate that the variance between councils is small, but there are large differences between older employees within the same council. These results combined suggest that stereotype threat appears to be an individual experience with a great level of subjectivity between older employees.

Across two studies, we explored 10 key antecedents to age-based stereotype threat for older employees. Identifying the specific workplace antecedents can help inform organisational interventions (e.g., psychoeducation) to better predict and prevent stereotype threat from occurring, thereby improving the engagement and retention of the ageing workforce. Adopting a multi-level approach, we addressed concerns of common method variance and gained insight into how organisational level factors relate to older employees’ stereotype threat. Our findings indicate that stereotype threat may be less impacted by organisational level factors, like younger co-workers’ attitudes or the age-friendly HR programs available, and more impacted by local factors. Future research should investigate this possibility through narrowing down on the culture/climate at the department or workgroup level and looking at individual differences to explain the subjectivity of stereotype threat experiences.

*Co-winner of the short video competition