EFFECTS OF JOB RESOURCES ON WORK ABILITY IN HIGH QUALIFIED MANAGEMENT POSITIONS

摘要

The prolongation of work lives could attenuate the challenges of the demographic change. In order to maintain and improve the productiveness of the workforce, work ability is gaining increasing importance in both, research and practice. On average, age leads to a decline in work ability, and, consequently, work force participation. However, age also leads to an increase in work ability score variance, indicating the presence of moderating effects with an impact on the relationship of age and work ability. In line with the Job-Demands Resources Model and the Conservation of Resources Theory, we evaluated direct and possible moderating effects of job resources, i.e., characteristics of the supervisor, discrimination, respect, and autonomy on the relationship between age and work ability.Data of 1,093 managers of the chemical industry in Germany were used. Managers not only are subject to factors of their work environment, but are also important role-models for their direct reports, and are therefore of twofold interest.In hierarchical regression analyses, we found direct impact on work ability for all job resources. Additionally, the analyses indicated moderating effects of advancement discrimination, control of work, and skill usage on the age-related decline of work ability. The findings are discussed regarding relevant literature. Our research can help employers facing demographic challenges to effectively employ interventions to improve health and work ability of their aging work forces, especially when mere individual-focusing interventions fail to do so.