Managing Age in Organisational Contexts

Project Summary

The management of age by organizations is becoming increasingly important as the population and workforce ages. Despite increasing awareness of ageism and negative attitudes which result in the marginalization of older workers and barriers to their effective participation in the workforce, organisations and policymakers have failed to develop effective measures to enhance the prospects of older employees.

This study explores how meanings are constructed for age in organizations through the use of language and explores the implications of these meanings for individuals and organizations. The conceptual framework, underpinning this discursive approach, examines how age-based identities emerge from the interplay of identity regulation and identity work. By combining the analysis of discourse with a study of materiality to examine how age is performed by individuals we provide an innovative development in the conceptualization of age-based identities by showing that identity work involves not just talk but also performance, which includes both “bodily sayings” and “bodily doings” (Rasche & Chia, 2009: 721). Meanings of age emerge from interpretation of this performance by other organisational members.

The study will contribute to practice by developing a framework of more effective strategies to enable practitioners to remedy age-related issues in ways that are tailored to their particular context. By taking into account the way in which both the individual and the organization play a role in the social construction of age-related identities, the study offers the prospect of more enduring answers to age discrimination by broadening solutions away from individual coping strategies and showing how solutions can be embedded in organizational practices and routines.

Researchers

Dr Leanne Cutcher (Sydney), Professor Cynthia Hardy (Melbourne), Dr Susan Ainsworth (Melbourne), and Professor Robyn Thomas (Cardiff University, UK).