The Impact of Age Stereotypes and Age Norms on Employees’ Retirement Choices: A Neglected Aspect of Research on Extended Working Lives

This article examines how older workers employ internalized age norms and perceptions when thinking about extending their working lives or retirement timing. It draws on semi-structured interviews with employees (n = 104) and line managers, human resource managers and occupational health specialists...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sarah Vickerstaff, Mariska Van der Horst
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Sociology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2021.686645/full
id doaj-3e42580fb4fc4cf9b2c3be804adb3948
record_format Article
spelling doaj-3e42580fb4fc4cf9b2c3be804adb39482021-06-01T05:01:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sociology2297-77752021-06-01610.3389/fsoc.2021.686645686645The Impact of Age Stereotypes and Age Norms on Employees’ Retirement Choices: A Neglected Aspect of Research on Extended Working LivesSarah Vickerstaff0Mariska Van der Horst1School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury, United KingdomDepartment of Sociology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsThis article examines how older workers employ internalized age norms and perceptions when thinking about extending their working lives or retirement timing. It draws on semi-structured interviews with employees (n = 104) and line managers, human resource managers and occupational health specialists (n = 52) from four organisations in the United Kingdom. Previous research has demonstrated discrimination against older workers but this is a limiting view of the impact that ageism may have in the work setting. Individuals are likely to internalize age norms as older people have lived in social contexts in which negative images of what it means to be “old” are prevalent. These age perceptions are frequently normalized (taken for granted) in organisations and condition how people are managed and crucially how they manage themselves. How older workers and managers think and talk about age is another dynamic feature of decision making about retirement with implications for extending working lives. Amongst our respondents it was widely assumed that older age would come with worse health—what is more generally called the decline narrative - which served both as a motivation for individuals to leave employment to maximize enjoyment of their remaining years in good health as well as a motivation for some other individuals to stay employed in order to prevent health problems that might occur from an inactive retirement. Age norms also told some employees they were now “too old” for their job, to change job, for training and/or promotion and that they should leave that “to the younger ones”—what we call a sense of intergenerational disentitlement. The implications of these processes for the extending working lives agenda are discussed.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2021.686645/fullageismage stereotypesage normsolder workersextending working livesqualitative interviews
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Sarah Vickerstaff
Mariska Van der Horst
spellingShingle Sarah Vickerstaff
Mariska Van der Horst
The Impact of Age Stereotypes and Age Norms on Employees’ Retirement Choices: A Neglected Aspect of Research on Extended Working Lives
Frontiers in Sociology
ageism
age stereotypes
age norms
older workers
extending working lives
qualitative interviews
author_facet Sarah Vickerstaff
Mariska Van der Horst
author_sort Sarah Vickerstaff
title The Impact of Age Stereotypes and Age Norms on Employees’ Retirement Choices: A Neglected Aspect of Research on Extended Working Lives
title_short The Impact of Age Stereotypes and Age Norms on Employees’ Retirement Choices: A Neglected Aspect of Research on Extended Working Lives
title_full The Impact of Age Stereotypes and Age Norms on Employees’ Retirement Choices: A Neglected Aspect of Research on Extended Working Lives
title_fullStr The Impact of Age Stereotypes and Age Norms on Employees’ Retirement Choices: A Neglected Aspect of Research on Extended Working Lives
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Age Stereotypes and Age Norms on Employees’ Retirement Choices: A Neglected Aspect of Research on Extended Working Lives
title_sort impact of age stereotypes and age norms on employees’ retirement choices: a neglected aspect of research on extended working lives
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Sociology
issn 2297-7775
publishDate 2021-06-01
description This article examines how older workers employ internalized age norms and perceptions when thinking about extending their working lives or retirement timing. It draws on semi-structured interviews with employees (n = 104) and line managers, human resource managers and occupational health specialists (n = 52) from four organisations in the United Kingdom. Previous research has demonstrated discrimination against older workers but this is a limiting view of the impact that ageism may have in the work setting. Individuals are likely to internalize age norms as older people have lived in social contexts in which negative images of what it means to be “old” are prevalent. These age perceptions are frequently normalized (taken for granted) in organisations and condition how people are managed and crucially how they manage themselves. How older workers and managers think and talk about age is another dynamic feature of decision making about retirement with implications for extending working lives. Amongst our respondents it was widely assumed that older age would come with worse health—what is more generally called the decline narrative - which served both as a motivation for individuals to leave employment to maximize enjoyment of their remaining years in good health as well as a motivation for some other individuals to stay employed in order to prevent health problems that might occur from an inactive retirement. Age norms also told some employees they were now “too old” for their job, to change job, for training and/or promotion and that they should leave that “to the younger ones”—what we call a sense of intergenerational disentitlement. The implications of these processes for the extending working lives agenda are discussed.
topic ageism
age stereotypes
age norms
older workers
extending working lives
qualitative interviews
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2021.686645/full
work_keys_str_mv AT sarahvickerstaff theimpactofagestereotypesandagenormsonemployeesretirementchoicesaneglectedaspectofresearchonextendedworkinglives
AT mariskavanderhorst theimpactofagestereotypesandagenormsonemployeesretirementchoicesaneglectedaspectofresearchonextendedworkinglives
AT sarahvickerstaff impactofagestereotypesandagenormsonemployeesretirementchoicesaneglectedaspectofresearchonextendedworkinglives
AT mariskavanderhorst impactofagestereotypesandagenormsonemployeesretirementchoicesaneglectedaspectofresearchonextendedworkinglives
_version_ 1721411012406542336