Age and Workplace Ageism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flow diagram of study selection process.

Table 1. Summary of the Selected Studies.

No	Author(s) (Year)	Workplace-based ageism measurement	Effect size (Pearson r)	N	Mean (SD)	Female (%)	Participants’ age range	Location
1	Fasbender and Wang (2017)	Negative attitudes toward older workers	0	102	36.1 (6.64)	38 (37.3%)	from 22 to 52 years	USA
		Avoidance of hiring older job applicants	−0.25*
2	Bal et al. (2015)	Stereotypes toward older workers	−0.16*	168	54.76 (9.02)	49 (29.2%)	from 21 to 70 years	Netherlands
3	Zaniboni et al. (2019)	Implicit stereotype toward older/younger workers	0	110	37.49 (13.06)	55 (50%)	from 18 to 65 years	Italy
		Explicit stereotype toward older and younger workers	−0.3*
4	Sammarra et al. (2020)	Stereotypes toward older/younger workers	0	434	48.78 (9.27)	286 (66%)	from 26 to 71 years	Italy
5	Ospina et al. (2019)	Stereotypes toward older workers	−0.18*	219	28.44 (4.45)	124 (57%)	from 19 to 35 years	USA
6	Vignoli et al. (2021)	Stereotypes toward older workers	0	563	55.37 (3.43)	352 (62.5%)	from 50 to 64 years	Italy
7	Rego et al. (2017)	Attitudes toward older workers: adaptability [R]	0.15**	473	39.49 (10.98)	220 (46.5%)	Mean = 39.5	Portugal (47%) & Brazil (53%)
		Attitudes toward older workers: value of older workers’ competencies to organizations [R]	0
		Attitudes toward older workers: organizational conscientiousness [R]	0.16**
		Attitudes toward older workers: social capital and generosity [R]	0.13*
		Attitudes toward older workers: performance [R]	0
8	Rego et al. (2018)	Attitudes toward older workers: competence [R]	0.23***	201	41.05 (9.03)	88 (43.8%)	Mean = 41.1	Brazil
		Attitudes toward older workers: warmth [R]	0.19**
9	Hassell et al. (1995)	Beliefs about older workers [R]	0.30***	179	38(-)	98 (55%)	from 18 to 63 years	USA
10	Redman and Snape (2002)	Beliefs about older workers: work effectiveness [R]	0.32***	302	44.43 (9.32)	220 (73%)	from 23 to 66 years	England
		Beliefs about older workers: adaptability [R]	0.17**
11	Iweins et al. (2012)	Stereotypes toward older workers: work effectiveness	−0.30**	187	37.08 (7.63)	161 (86%)	less than 50 years old	Belgian
		adaptability	−0.19**
12	Chiu et al. (2001)	Stereotypes toward older workers: adaptability [R]	0.17**	561	31.8 (6.02)	362 (65%)	from 22 to 60 years	England (46%) & Hong Kong (54%)
		work effectiveness [R]	0.16**
		Discriminatory attitudes toward older workers: training [R]	0.20**
		promotion [R]	0.12**
		retention [R]	0.17**
		co-working [R]	0.15**
		Positive discrimination [R]	0
13	Liebermann et al. (2013)	Stereotypes toward older workers	−0.17**	1,214	45 (11.2)	692 (57%)	Median = 46	Germany
14	Lu (2010)	Intention to work with older employees [R]	0.21**	258	34.81 (11.58)	157 (61%)	Mean = 34.8	Taiwan
15	Marcus et al. (2016)	Stereotype toward older workers: competence [R]	0.49**	78	45 (14.43)	51 (65%)	Median = 45.5	USA
		adaptability [R]	0.46**
		warmth [R]	0

Note: * p < .05. **p < .01.***p < .00.

Figure 2. Forest plot of the robust variance meta-analysis.

Fasbender, U., & Wang, M. (2017). Negative attitudes toward older workers and hiring decisions: Testing the moderating role of decision makers’ core self-evaluations. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(2057). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02057

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Bal, P. M., de Lange, A. H., Van der Heijden, B. I., Zacher, H., Oderkerk, F. A., & Otten, S. (2015). Young at heart, old at work? Relations between age, (meta-) stereotypes, self-categorization, and retirement attitudes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 91, 35–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.09.002

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Zaniboni, S., Kmicinska, M., Truxillo, D. M., Kahn, K., Paladino, M. P., & Fraccaroli, F. (2019). Will you still hire me when I am over 50? The effects of implicit and explicit age stereotyping on resume evaluations. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28(4), 453–467. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2019.1600506

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Sammarra, A., Profili, S., Peccei, R., & Innocenti, L. (2020). When is age dissimilarity harmful for organisational identification? The moderating role of age stereotypes and perceived age-related treatment. Human Relations, 74(6), 869–891. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726719900009

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Ospina, J. H., Cleveland, J. N., & Gibbons, A. M. (2019). The relationship of employment scarcity and perceived threat with ageist and sexist attitudes. Work, Aging and Retirement, 5(3), 215–235. https://doi.org/10.1093/workar/waz003

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Vignoli, M., Zaniboni, S., Chiesa, R., Alcover, C. M., Guglielmi, D., & Topa, G. (2021). Maintaining and engaging older workers at work: The trigger role of personal and psychosocial resources. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(8), 1731–1753. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2019.1579252

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Rego, A., Vitória, A., Cunha, M. P. E., Tupinambá, A., & Leal, S. (2017). Developing and validating an instrument for measuring managers’ attitudes toward older workers. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(13), 1866–1899.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Rego, A., Vitória, A., Tupinambá, A., Júnior, D. R., Reis, D., Cunha, M. P. E., & Lourenço-Gil, R. (2018). Brazilian managers’ ageism: A multiplex perspective. International Journal of Manpower, 39(3), 414–433.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Hassell, B. L., & Perrewe, P. L. (1995). An examination of beliefs about older workers: Do stereotypes still exist? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16(5), 457–468. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030160506

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Redman, T., & Snape, E. (2002). Ageism in teaching: Stereotypical beliefs and discriminatory attitudes towards the over-50s. Work, Employment and Society, 16(2), 355–371. https://doi.org/10.1177/095001702400426884

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Iweins, C., Desmette, D., & Yzerbyt, V. (2012). Ageism at work: What happens to older workers who benefit from preferential treatment? Psychologica Belgica, 52(4), 327–349. https://doi.org/10.5334/pb-52-4-327

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Chiu, W. C., Chan, A. W., Snape, E., & Redman, T. (2001). Age stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes towards older workers: An East-West comparison. Human Relations, 54(5), 629–661. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726701545004

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Liebermann, S. C., Wegge, J., Jungmann, F., & Schmidt, K. H. (2013). Age diversity and individual team member health: The moderating role of age and age stereotypes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 86(2), 184–202. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12016

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Lu, L. (2010). Attitudes toward older people and coworkers’ intention to work with older employees: A Taiwanese study. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 71(4), 305–322. https://doi.org/10.2190/AG.71.4.c

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Marcus, J., Fritzsche, B. A., Le, H., & Reeves, M. D. (2016). Validation of the work-related age-based stereotypes (WAS) scale. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 31(5), 989–1004. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-11-2014-0320

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar