Premium
Job‐Related Threats to Control Among Older Employees
Author(s) -
Remondet Jacqueline H.,
Hansson Robert O.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1991.tb01838.x
Subject(s) - job satisfaction , workload , job attitude , absenteeism , psychology , control (management) , job control , job performance , job stress , job design , social psychology , work (physics) , applied psychology , demographic economics , management , engineering , mechanical engineering , economics
This study investigated those aspects of the work experience of middle‐aged and preretirement‐aged adults in which personal control is most likely to be threatened, and it identified related problems in performance, job satisfaction, and adjustment. Four dimensions of work experience emerged as sources of threat to personal control: Workload Demands, Limited Growth Opportunity, Personal/Family Crises, and Working Conditions. Diminished control in these areas was associated with increased job stress, generalized stress, depression, injuries on the job, and absenteeism, as well as with decreased job involvement, lower job satisfaction, and disrupted performance. In contrast to popular stereotypes, older workers actually exhibited fewer control concerns and less job stress, and greater job involvement and job satisfaction. Work‐specific control problems were related to generalized control beliefs only among the younger age group.