Contemporary Empirical Advancements in the Study of Aging in the Workplace
Special Issue of the Journal of Organizational Behavior
Guest Editors: Boris B. Baltes and Lisa M. Finkelstein
Among organizational researchers, there has been a recent trend toward the development of contemporary theoretical perspectives on issues relating to aging in the workplace. Driving this push toward new theories of aging in the workplace are issues such as the aging population of baby boomers, a predicted decrease in the available labor pool, and projected future economic conditions that are expected to place new pressures on older individuals to remain in the workforce for longer periods of time. These issues have broad implications for the study of organizational behavior, particularly when considering the consequences of demographic trends in the workplace, income discrepancies, the diversity of the aging workforce, the issue of age bias in the workplace, job performance, work-related attitudes, training and development, career issues of older workers, topics of age and occupational health, technology, work and family issues, and retirement considerations. In recognition of the development of such contemporary theoretical perspectives related to these issues, the Journal of Organizational Behavior is pleased to announce a Special Issue on Contemporary Empirical Investigations on Aging in the Workplace.
Purpose of the Special Issue
This special issue will serve to bring together contributions that begin to test some of the contemporary theoretical perspectives that have been advanced relating to the study of aging in the workplace. The goal of this special issue is to challenge contributors to go beyond the traditional framework for studying aging in the workplace, and to adopt a contemporary approach to the conceptualization of these issues. We invite empirical contributions that integrate and synthesize recent advances in the accumulated knowledge regarding aging in the workplace, while encouraging both the extension of existing theory, and the advancement of new theoretical perspectives. Interested scholars/practitioners are invited to send manuscripts representing original empirical research that synthesizes recent advances, extending existing theories, or advancing new theoretical perspectives in the study of aging in the workplace, including, but not limited to issues of:
Demographic trends in the workplace
The diversity of the aging workforce
The issue of age bias in the workplace
Job performance among older workers
Work-related attitudes
Climate and culture with respect to age
Training and development
Career issues of older workers
Topics of age and occupational health
Technology
Work and family issues
Motivation
Intergenerational teams
Intergenerational communication
Cross-cultural issues in aging
Retirement.
Viable papers will:
Be grounded in one or more of the accepted conceptual anchors of organizational behavior, such as systematic research, multidisciplinary research, contingency approaches, multiple levels of analysis, open systems perspectives, etc.
Document and demonstrate a clear empirical link between process and outcome variables.
Provide specific guidelines, principles, and lessons to be gained, that shape and guide practitioners and future researchers in the conceptualization of issues relating to aging in the workplace.
Add value to our knowledge base concerning aging in the workplace that will be viable for both research and practice.
In the selection of manuscripts for the Special Issue, priority will be given to those papers that test new theoretical perspectives, describe advances in the knowledge of the area of inquiry, effectively demonstrate parsimonious and concise messages regarding the nature of aging in the workplace from the perspective of the worker, employer, or other organizational stakeholders, and are rigorous in the logic and methods used to in support of data. Reviewers will be responding to the following criteria in their review of papers:
Is the paper relevant to the focus of the Special Issue?
Does the material represent an integration or extension of a contemporary theory or the advancement of a new theoretical perspective relating to issues of aging in the workplace?
Is the paper well connected with contemporary theoretical perspectives?
Does the paper demonstrate a clear empirical link between organizational process variables and specified outcome variables?
Is the methodology sound? Is the research design appropriate? Is the paper rigorous in logic and in the support of ideas?
Is the paper well written?
Does the paper make a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the area of aging in the workplace?
Contributors should note:
This call is open and competitive, and the submitted papers will be blind reviewed in the normal way.
Submitted papers must be based on original material not under consideration by any other journal or outlet.
For empirical papers based on data sets from which multiple papers have been generated, the editors must be provided with copies of all other papers based on the same data.
The editors will select a number of papers to be included in the special issue, but other papers submitted in this process may be published in other issues of the journal.
The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2008. The special issue is intended for publication at the beginning of 2010.
Papers to be considered for this special issue should be submitted online via http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/job (selecting ‘Special Issue Paper’ as the Manuscript Type). Please direct questions about the submission process, or any administrative matter, to Managing Editor, Kaylene Ascough, k.ascough@uq.edu.au
The editors of the special issue are very happy to discuss initial ideas for papers, and can be contacted directly:
Boris B. Baltes
Associate Professor
Wayne State University
5057 Woodward Ave.
Rm. 8404
Detroit, MI 48202
Phone: (313) 577-2833
Email: b.baltes@wayne.edu
Lisa M. Finkelstein
Associate Professor
Area Coordinator, Social-I/O Psychology
Department of Psychology
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
Email: lisaf@niu.edu
