Wang Zouhengrui, Fu Jishan, Bai Weijun
School of Public Management, Inner Mongolia University, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Hohhot, China.
Front Psychol. 2024 Jul 25;15:1439271. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1439271. eCollection 2024.
This study investigates the impact of psychological age climate on the motivation of aged workers in China and explores the mediating mechanisms at play. Two proposed chains of mediation capture the potential mechanisms underlying this process. The first chain involves the task and knowledge characteristics of work design, specifically autonomy arrangements and skill-based job demands, as mediators. The second chain focuses on the social and physical/contextual aspects of work design, including social support and ergonomic working conditions. The study sample consisted of 1,094 Chinese employees aged between 50 and 70 years (M = 55.66, SD = 4.274). Our findings reveal that a positive psychological age climate-organizational norms and practices that value and support older workers-significantly boosts their motivation to continue working. This enhancement in motivation is mediated by increased job autonomy and robust social support within the workplace, confirming that these elements are crucial for translating a positive age climate into tangible outcomes. Contrary to existing literature, our research does not support the mediating role of job design tailored to aged workers' skills and ergonomic working conditions. This indicates that in the cultural and organizational context of China, where collective values and respect for elder wisdom predominate, autonomy and social support directly influence workers' motivation more profoundly than ergonomic and job design considerations. The study underscores the importance of creating inclusive organizational cultures and implementing targeted support strategies to retain and engage aged workers effectively. It suggests that public policymakers and organizational leaders should focus on fostering positive psychological age climates and providing necessary autonomy and social resources to meet the unique needs of an aging workforce, thereby enhancing both individual and organizational outcomes in a globally aging society.
本研究调查了心理年龄氛围对中国老年员工工作积极性的影响，并探讨了其中起作用的中介机制。提出的两条中介链捕捉了这一过程潜在的机制。第一条中介链涉及工作设计的任务和知识特征，具体而言，以自主性安排和基于技能的工作要求作为中介变量。第二条中介链聚焦于工作设计的社会和物理/情境方面，包括社会支持和符合人体工程学的工作条件。研究样本包括1094名年龄在50至70岁之间的中国员工（M = 55.66，SD = 4.274）。我们的研究结果表明，积极的心理年龄氛围——重视和支持老年员工的组织规范与实践——能显著提升他们继续工作的积极性。工作自主性的提高和工作场所内强大的社会支持介导了这种积极性的增强，证实了这些因素对于将积极的年龄氛围转化为切实成果至关重要。与现有文献相反，我们的研究不支持针对老年员工技能的工作设计和符合人体工程学的工作条件所起的中介作用。这表明，在中国以集体价值观和尊重长者智慧为主导的文化和组织背景下，自主性和社会支持比符合人体工程学的因素和工作设计考量更能直接且深刻地影响员工的积极性。该研究强调了营造包容性组织文化以及实施针对性支持策略以有效留住和吸引老年员工的重要性。研究表明，公共政策制定者和组织领导者应专注于营造积极的心理年龄氛围，并提供必要的自主性和社会资源，以满足老龄化劳动力的独特需求，从而在全球老龄化社会中提升个人和组织的成果。
