Age and Commitment to Work
- 1 June 1986
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Research on Aging
- Vol. 8 (2) , 289-316
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027586008002006
Abstract
Previous research has found a consistent, positive relationship between age and commitment to work and the job. However, it is not clear if it is age per se or correlates of age, such as job tenure or length of service within the firm, that account for observed gains in work commitment over the life cycle. This question is examined here through a multivariate analysis of data from a large, representative probability sample of the U.S. work force. Within a multivariate framework, age has little independent effect on work commitment. Job satisfaction and occupational prestige do, however. The findings of this study are related to recent speculation about the decline of the "work ethic" among younger workers in the United States and to recent retirement trends.Keywords
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Motivational Formulation of Job and Work Involvement: A Cross-National StudyHuman Relations, 1985
- Job involvement and motivation: Are intrinsically motivated managers more job involved?Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1980
- When Can Age, Period, and Cohort be Separated?Social Forces, 1978
- Job involvement: A multivariate approach.Journal of Applied Psychology, 1978
- Satisfaction, job involvement, and intrinsic motivation: An extension of Lawler and Hall's factor analysis.Journal of Applied Psychology, 1976
- Relationships of age and seniority with career variables of engineers and scientists.Journal of Applied Psychology, 1975
- A Comparative Study of Work Centrality, Job Rewards and SatisfactionSociology of Work and Occupations, 1975
- Effect of worker orientation differences on job attitude correlates.Journal of Applied Psychology, 1974
- Career orientation and job satisfaction among working wives.Journal of Applied Psychology, 1973
- Relationship of job characteristics to job involvement, satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation.Journal of Applied Psychology, 1970