Motivational and cultural factors underlying dysfunctioning of older employees

Abstract

The way elderly people are seen and treated in the work environment is determined partly by motivational and cultural factors. In the present chapter, attention is paid to 'concentration of experience', the overspecialization of the elderly worker. Plausible explanations are his or her reluctance to change and the continuous, rigid way the work is done. The restricted specialization of the elderly worker on only some aspects of the job is further strengthened by a slow though ongoing decay of physical and mental abilities. This change may enforce the rigidity in behaviour and induce a loss of flexibility to adapt to changing work conditions and the introduction of new technologies. The consequential loss of interest and the associated demotivation form a serious threat to the health of the elderly worker and to the work organization as well. Although such a situation may develop in both men and women, the latter more often than men may suffer from the so-called 'glass-ceiling effect'. The glassceiling phenomenon is characterized by a block, imposed by the organization itself, to the attainment of the appropriate occupational level in the organizational hierarchy, in spite of the proven capability and aspirations of the employee involved. Several other factors that contribute to the health-threatening dysfunctioning of elderly workers are discussed, such as lack of formal schooling and opportunities for additional training, the decay of social networks within the work environment and, as is true for some work environments, a lack of autonomy of the elderly worker owing to the way the production process is organized.