Understanding work enjoyment among older workers: The significance of flexible work options and age discrimination in the workplace

Age Diversity Management in Organizations Scale: Development and Evidence of Validity

Abstract This study aimed to develop the Age Diversity Management in Organizations scale for the Brazilian context and verify its evidence of validity. The process included five steps: proposal of its definition and development of the items according to the literature; content and semantic validity by judges; semantic validity by the target population; exploratory factorial analysis (EFA); and confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA). The EFA sample consisted of 674 workers from different organizations and the CFA of 722 workers. The final version of the scale was composed of 20 items (α =.91), divided into four factors: retirement preparation practices (5 items, α =.93); equal treatment for workers of different ages (6 items, a=.85), training to promote age diversity (5 items, α =.81), and management practices for older workers (4 items, α =.72). The theoretical and practical implications as well as the limitations of this measure are discussed.

Workplace Age Discrimination and Affecting Factors in Turkey: A Validation Study

Objective: This study was undertaken to adapt Workplace Age Discrimination Scale (WADS) to Turkish. Methods: The sample of the study was composed of 465 volunteered women and men (18+ years) who had an active working life. Corrected item total correlation and Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient were calculated for reliability of WADS. High order confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the theoretical suitability and construct validity for Turkish context. Results: In this study, WADS has one factor construction. Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Coefficient was found as 0.904 for WADS. Predictors of workplace age discrimination in Turkish population were determined as age, hierarchical structure, job satisfaction, and income satisfaction Conclusion: These results showed that the Turkish version of WADS may be used as a valid and reliable tool in determining workplace age discrimination and in other relevant research. Exploring the validity and reliability of the scale should be repeated in groups who have different socio-demographics and health situations.

Managing employment among pre-retirement aged cancer survivors

Introduction

Successfully maintaining (managing) paid employment can be a challenge as people negotiate the cancer care pathway and survivorship. Little research explores the influence of age on this situation. The purpose of this project was to explore the role of age in managing employment for survivors from age 45 to 64 years.

Method

A qualitative descriptive design was conducted to explore the intersection of age and managing employment for cancer survivors. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 United States cancer survivors (lung, breast, colorectal). Interviews were conducted in person or by phone. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Codes were grouped by categories, incorporated into separate topical files, and then aggregated into broader emergent themes.

Findings

Survivors are not just “returning” to work after treatment. They are often managing work both during and after treatment. Age may have benefits but can also provide barriers to positive survivorship and employment experiences. Fulfilling the role of employee and maintaining a worker identity was a strong driver for many participants. Again, this was potentially both a support and a barrier. It was discovered that health care providers provided little support to facilitate employment.

Conclusion

Age is a factor that is poorly understood but influences both health and personal aspects of the experience of managing paid employment during and after cancer treatment. Occupational therapy practitioners should acknowledge this important role in addressing cancer survivorship.

Older Workers in the Time of COVID-19: The Senior Community Service Employment Program and Implications for Social Work

It has long been the goal of many gerontological social work scholars to increase the ability and opportunity for people to be engaged in paid and unpaid work throughout the life course. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic is revealing and exacerbating the financial insecurity of many older adults. In this paper, we review information related to older workers and how they might be affected by this pandemic and its aftermath, paying particular attention to the most socioeconomically and physically vulnerable older workers. We also offer first-hand experiences from our careers working with and conducting scholarship on older workers, paying particular attention to recent actions by many in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) network to provide paid sick leave to its low-income, older adult participants. We conclude with implications for social work scholarship and teaching, noting the uptick in technology use among older adults and the disparities that remain, as well as teaching that integrates discussions on the lifelong and cumulative effects of inequalities and marginalization and the need for additional researcher, student, and community collaborations.

The demoralisation of nurses and medical doctors working in the emergency department: A qualitative descriptive study

AIM

To explore emergency department clinicians (nurses and medical doctors) perceptions of stressors and coping strategies in their work environment.

METHODS

A descriptive qualitative design was adopted. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with medical and nursing personnel working in one Australian emergency department. A thematic inductive approach was used for analysis.

FINDINGS

Four key themes emerged regarding perceptions of and factors that influenced stressors around the emergency department working environment: i) workload and departmental activity, ii) lack of support; iii) inadequate resourcing; and iv) a mis-match between societal, organisational and staff expectations. The overlap between these themes is such that an overarching theme of 'demoralisation in the workforce' can be described. Staff reported both problem- and emotion-focussed coping strategies with varying levels of self-perceived effectiveness. The foci of solutions proposed by participants typically addressed the source of the stressors.

CONCLUSION

Exposure to occupational stressors remains problematic for emergency department clinicians. Continued exposure can, in some instances, result in demoralisation of the workforce. Immediate attention to causes and effects of occupational stress and demoralisation is warranted. Implementing tailored strategies has the potential to ameliorate effects of occupational stressors.