Relating subjective age to work and non-work outcomes

Taking into consideration subjective age is particularly relevant when examining the motivations of older workers because their interpretation of their age is likely to be at least as important as their chronological age in determining the relative importance of work and non-work aspects of life. Participants were 169 workers who completed a survey on four dimensions of subjective age in relationship with work and non-work outcomes (e.g., retirement intentions, turnover intentions, and orientations toward work, family, and leisure activities). With regard to our dependent variables, we examined: 1) the unique contributions of subjective and chronological ages; 2) the interaction between subjective and chronological ages; and 3) curvilinear relationships of subjective age because past research indicates that linear relationships are insufficient for understanding the roles of such variables. Most of the significant results we obtained concerned the non-linear relationships, specifically they show that subjective age dimensions work in a different way for younger, middle, and older workers. We will discuss the implications for organizational practice and future research on subjective age.