Article review

Job satisfaction in aging workforces: an analysis of the USA, Japan and Germany

David Drabe a , Sven Hauff

b and Nicole Franziska Richter

a *

a Institute for Human Resource Management and Organizations, Hamburg University of Technology,

Hamburg, Germany; b Institute for Human Resource Management, University of Hamburg,

Hamburg, Germany

In light of the dramatically aging workforces in many industrialized countries, age diversity management will become a major challenge in human resource management. To successfully handle an age-diverse workforce, it is crucial to understand how employees of different ages can be motivated. This paper analyzes age’s moderating role in the relationship between situational job characteristics and job satisfaction. To control for the potential influence of the cultural and institutional context, we use data from the USA, Japan and Germany. Findings show that older employees’ job satisfaction is driven by different factors than younger employees: older employees put more emphasis on good relationships with colleagues, while income, advancement opportunities, job security and having an interesting job are less important. However, these effects are mostly nation-dependent, which underlines the importance of conducting cross-cultural or cross-national aging research.

Keywords: aging workforce; cross-cultural research; diversity management; human resource management; job satisfaction

Introduction

Populations in most developed countries are declining and aging (OECD, 2006). This has

majoreffectsonworkforces:owingtotheshortageofyoungemployees,anincreasingaverage

age, and a potential rise in the statutory retirement age, organizations will be forced to recruit,

motivate and retain more older employees (Kunze, Boehm, & Bruch, 2011). Since to date

organizations have primarily concentrated on younger employees, age diversity management

will become a major challenge in human resource management (HRM), especially since it

changes more rapidly than other diversity dimensions such as gender, ethnicity or nationality

(Boehm, Baumgaertner, Dwertmann, & Kunze, 2011; Shore et al., 2009).

A key aspect of age-diverse workforce management is to develop an understanding of

how to motivate and satisfy older employees, since highly satisfied employees show lower

turnover intentions (DeConinck & Stilwell, 2004), lower absenteeism rates (Hausknecht,

Hiller, & Vance, 2008) and often better performance (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, & Patton,

2001), which optimizes a firm’s (strategic) business success. Several studies have

examined the relationship between age and job satisfaction, that is the question how job

satisfaction levels vary with age – for instance, does it take a curvilinear (Clark, Oswald,

& Warr, 1996; Snyder & Dietrich, 1992), a linear positive (Hunt & Saul, 1975; Lee &

Wilbur, 1985) or a negative form (Luthans & Thomas, 1989; Saleh & Otis, 1964).

However, relatively little is known about the determinants of older employees’ job

satisfaction. The existence of differences between the job satisfaction drivers of older and

younger employees would imply the need to design age-specific HR programs to enable

q 2014 Taylor & Francis

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2015

Vol. 26, No. 6, 783–805, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2014.939101

the successful inclusion of each of these two groups in work life (Kooij, De Lange, Jansen,

Kanfer, & Dikkers, 2011; Ng & Feldman, 2010).

We will address this issue theoretically and empirically. To understand if and how the

relationship between situational job characteristics and job satisfaction is moderated by

age, we test several hypotheses. Thereby, we build on theoretical approaches on adult

development (e.g. Baltes, Staudinger, & Lindenberger, 1999; Carstensen, 1995;

Heckhausen & Schulz, 1995; Heckhausen, Schulz, & Wrosch, 2010) as well as on

frameworks on age’s influence on work motivation (e.g. Kanfer & Ackerman, 2004; Warr,

2001). Because the link between job characteristics and job satisfaction may be influenced

not only by age, but also by national characteristics such as socioeconomic differences and

national culture (e.g. Huang & Van de Vliert, 2003), our empirical analysis is based on

data from three different countries: the USA, Japan and Germany. These countries

represent the three leading economies in North America, Asia and Europe (Pudelko,

2006), involve the necessary amount of cultural diversity to allow for the identification of

cultural differences (e.g. Gupta & Hanges, 2004) and include the two nations most heavily

affected by demographic changes, namely Japan and Germany (United Nations, 2013).

Our findings show that older employees have different needs, values and goals; their

job satisfaction is driven by different factors compared to younger employees. Older

employees place more emphasis on good relationships with colleagues and less emphasis

on income, advancement opportunities, job security and having an interesting job.

However, these effects manifest very differently in different nations or cultures. Age’s

moderating role is thus strongly influenced by national context. Our analyses offer two

major contributions: first, we contribute to theory building on the influence of adult

development in an international work context. Second, we contribute to current research

on (age) diversity HR management and show the strong need for more specific HR

programs.

Theoretical background and research hypotheses

Situational antecedents of job satisfaction

Job satisfaction can be influenced by various situational job characteristics. Well-known

situational approaches are the two-factor theory of Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman

(1959), the job characteristics model (JCM) of Hackman and Oldham (1976) and the work

of Warr (2007). The two-factor theory clusters the antecedents of job satisfaction into

motivational and hygiene factors. Motivational factors – such as achievement,

recognition, work, responsibility, promotion and growth – are assumed to increase job

satisfaction but do not diminish dissatisfaction. In contrast, hygiene factors – such as pay,

company policy, relationships with colleagues and supervision – are assumed to decrease

job dissatisfaction but do not increase job satisfaction. Similarly, the JCM (Hackman &

Oldham, 1976) specifies five core job characteristics that increase job satisfaction: task

identity, task significance, skills variety, autonomy and feedback. Based on a

comprehensive review of prior job satisfaction research, Warr (2007) provides what to

our knowledge is the most comprehensive collection of job features significantly

associated with job satisfaction: (1) opportunity for personal control (employee discretion,

autonomy, self-determination), (2) opportunity for skills use (skills utilization, opportunity

for learning), (3) externally generated goals (job demands, workload, work–family

conflict), (4) variety (in job content and location, non-repetitive work), (5) environmental

clarity (information about the future and required behavior), (6) contact with others

(quantity and quality of interactions), (7) availability of money (income level), (8)

D. Drabe et al.784

physical security (absence of danger, good working conditions), (9) valued social position

(status in society, task significance), (10) supportive supervision (leader consideration,

supportive management), (11) career outlook (job security, opportunity for promotion,

advancement) and (12) equity (fairness in one’s employment relationship, morality in an

employer’s relationship with society).

Job satisfaction’s various antecedents are often categorized into different dimensions.

The most popular categorization distinguishes between extrinsic and intrinsic job

characteristics and can be traced back to Herzberg’s differentiation between motivators

(here, intrinsic aspects) and hygiene factors (here, extrinsic aspects) (Kaasa, 2011; Mottaz,

1985). Some authors (e.g. Katz & Van Maanen, 1977; Mottaz, 1985) hypothesize on a

further cluster of social rewards derived from interpersonal relationships at work, such as

good relationships with colleagues. In the current research, it is often assumed that these

three groups of situational job characteristics affect job satisfaction (e.g. Huang & Van de

Vliert, 2003; Hulin & Judge, 2003).

Several empirical studies have further shown that different situational drivers are not

equally relevant for job satisfaction across nations (e.g. Masuda et al., 2012; Robert,

Probst, Martocchio, Drasgow, & Lawler, 2000; Sousa-Poza & Sousa-Poza, 2000). In their

cross-national analysis of 21 countries, Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza (2000) show that

seven situational job characteristics are the most important determinants of job satisfaction

across all countries analyzed: (1) high income, (2) advancement opportunities, (3) job

security, (4) interesting job, (5) independent work, (6) good relationships with

management and (7) good relationships with colleagues. These seven characteristics

cover all three categories of job satisfaction antecedents (namely, intrinsic, extrinsic and

social antecedents of job satisfaction), showed relevance in an international context and

will therefore be the focus of our subsequent analyses.

The role of age in job characteristics and job satisfaction models

Past research on the relationship between age and job satisfaction focused especially on

two questions (Hochwarter, Ferris, Perrewe, Witt, & Kiewitz, 2001; Schulte, 2005): (1) Do

older employees have a higher job satisfaction level? (2) Which form does the relationship

between age and job satisfaction take? An early study by Herzberg et al. (1959) proved

that at the beginning of working life, job satisfaction is relatively high, then decreases

during the following years, and rises again before retirement (i.e. a U-shaped relationship).

A comprehensive study and meta-analysis by Rhodes (1983) summarized the findings of

follow-up studies by other authors: in 22 out of 29 samples analyzed, the authors found a

positive linear relationship, in four a U-shaped or inverted U-shaped form, in one sample

they identified a negative linear relationship and in two samples no relationship. Studies

subsequently published by Kacmar and Ferris (1989), Snyder and Dietrich (1992), Clark

et al. (1996) and Hochwarter et al. (2001) did not confirm a positive linear relationship, but

assume a U-shaped curve. Ng and Feldman (2010), who analyzed 802 empirical studies,

found a corrected correlation of age and general job satisfaction of r ¼ 0.12. Hence, whether or not there is a linear or nonlinear relationship, most studies find a positive but

low impact.

Even more important than understanding the relationship between age and job

satisfaction is understanding the driving factors of job satisfaction within different age

groups, as this is the information needed to design HR activities that meet this group’s

needs. However, a look at the academic literature reveals a lack of research on the

antecedents of job satisfaction and their importance in different age groups (Claes & van

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 785

de Ven, 2008; Kooij et al., 2012; Krumm, Grube, & Hertel, 2012). The number of

empirical studies on this topic is surprisingly low. In one of the few studies, Eichar,

Norland, Michael Brady, and Fortinsky (1991) analyze the influence of five different job

characteristics (autonomy, skills use, income, pay supplements, flexibility) on the job

satisfaction of approximately 200 persons aged 50 and older. Results show that intrinsic

characteristics have a significant influence on job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors do

not have this effect. Groot and van de Brink (1999), analyzing a sample of 4700 employees

aged 43 to 63, conclude that having an interesting job is the most important driver of job

satisfaction. Furthermore, relationships with colleagues and managers as well as workload

affect job satisfaction. Unfortunately, neither study provides a theoretical foundation, nor

compares results between older and younger employees. Hence, age-specific differences

in job satisfaction drivers cannot be identified.

However, there has been much progress in terms of theory building, especially in the

past 20–30 years, regarding age’s influence on personal needs, values or goals. The most

influential theoretical approaches are selection, optimization and compensation theory

(Baltes et al., 1999), socio-emotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, 1995) and the life-

span theory of control and development (Heckhausen & Schulz, 1995; Heckhausen et al.,

2010). Authors have also developed eclectic frameworks on how changes in age influence

work motivation that build on the above and on further theories, such as the expectancy

theory of Vroom (1964) (Kanfer & Ackerman, 2004; Warr, 2001).

Selection, optimization and compensation theory (Baltes et al., 1999) addresses the

question how older people cope with the age-related reduction of internal and external

resources such as cognitive capacity, physical strength and social support. Within this

framework, successful aging implies the maximization of desirable (gains) and the

minimization of undesirable goals (losses). To achieve these goals, three strategies are

applied: selection of goals, optimization of means to achieve a goal and compensation

through the use of alternative means. An underlying assumption is that resources are

reallocated during the life span away from growth goals (e.g. to learn new things) to

maintenance and the regulation of loss (e.g. decline in health).

Socio-emotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, 1995) refers to a general urge to social

interaction that can satisfy two motives, either gaining resources (i.e. knowledge) or

receiving affective rewards (i.e. emotional satisfaction) in order to support one’s identity.

This theory maintains that aging causes a shift in the motives for social interaction away

from gaining resources and toward the receiving of affective rewards. Therefore, older

employees become more selective and prioritize emotionally meaningful objectives such

as generativity, emotional intimacy and social embeddedness. Whereas young adults seek

social interactions primarily for their informational value and future opportunities, older

adults prioritize social interactions to gain affective rewards (emotional satisfaction) and

emotional intimacy. As an explanation for these shifts, it is argued that aging changes the

perception of time in a way that older individuals perceive their future time as more

limited than younger ones (see Carstensen, 1995; Lang & Carstensen, 2002).

Finally, the life-span theory of control and development (Heckhausen & Schulz, 1995;

Heckhausen et al., 2010) proposes that an individual realizes two kinds of control during

their life span. Primary control refers to processes aimed at changing the world to bring the

environment (e.g. the work environment) in line with one’s wishes. Secondary control, in

contrast, is the process of changing the self in order to bring oneself in line with

environmental factors. An individual’s capacity for primary control processes is expected

to decrease with age; hence, older individuals need to invest more effort in pursuing

primary control targets and might therefore switch to secondary control processes.

D. Drabe et al.786

Based on these approaches, Kanfer and Ackerman (2004) developed an eclectic

framework that aims to transfer these theoretical foundations to the work context (see also

Warr, 2001). Kanfer and Ackerman (2004) use a variant of the expectancy value theory to

understand how aging may influence work motivation. A basic assumption is that

individuals allocate their resources based on three primary relationships: effort–

performance, performance–utility and effort–utility. Regarding the first, the authors

hypothesize that the effort–performance relationship changes with age: for tasks that are

primarily associated with crystallized intelligence (i.e. the use of skills and expertise), less

effort is needed for older employees to achieve a high performance level, because they can

rely on their experience. In contrast, more effort is needed for tasks associated with fluid

intelligence (i.e. abstract reasoning, attention) because these cognitive abilities often

decline with increasing age. Second, regarding the performance–utility relationship, it is

assumed that with increasing age, high performance levels are associated with comparably

lower utility levels. Finally, the authors assume that after a certain level of effort, higher

effort levels are assumed to have lower utility. This threshold at which further efforts lead

to a decline in utility is lower for older employees. Kanfer and Ackerman (2004) propose

that the impact of aging on work motivation occurs through the effects on these three

relationships (for an overview, see Table 1).

A similar approach is followed by Warr (2001), who builds on the idea that individuals

take decisions on the perceived utility versus the expected probability of an event (see

Vroom, 1964). Warr (2001) posits that an event’s perceived value decreases as it recurs

regularly. The individual establishes an inner benchmark level and makes value

comparisons based on this, and this level increases with experience. To create value for the

individual, the new event has to surpass the ever-growing inner benchmark level.

Transferring this – for instance – to compensation systems, pay incentives must always

increase in order to create the same value.

Table 1. Aging’s impact on work motivation according to Kanfer and Ackerman (2004).

Age-related changes Impact motivation as follows (propositions):

In cognition (the effort–performance relationship)

As fluid intelligence declines with age, compensatory motivational strategies to sustain performance by increasing effort in tasks associated with fluid reasoning will be undermined by negative effects on psychological factors (e.g. self-efficacy) As crystallized intelligence increases with age, motivational interventions to increase effort among individuals engaged in jobs that demand high levels of experience or knowledge are expected to improve in performance as a result of the positive consequences of performance for other variables, such as self-concept

In personality, self-concept and values (the –utility relation- ship)

In the absence of work role changes or changes in compensation scheme, the attractiveness of higher job performance levels (associated with rewards such as pay and promotion) is expected to decline with age As workers age, the strength of achievement motives and openness to experience appear to decline (occupational achievement plays a smaller role in their lives), and the strength of motives related to promoting positive affect and protecting self-concept increases

In affect and interests (the utility–effort relationship)

The attractiveness of higher effort levels declines with age

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 787

In the following, we build on these theories when deriving our research hypotheses on

age’s moderating role in the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction.

We focus on income, advancement opportunities and security as extrinsic job

characteristics, interesting job and independent work as intrinsic job characteristics and

good relationships with management and colleagues as social job characteristics.

Assumptions regarding income can be based on the life-span theory of control, as

well as on the eclectic frameworks on age-related changes in work motivation of Kanfer

and Ackerman (2004) as well as of Warr (2001). Building on the idea of expectancy

theory, pay incentives must always increase in order to create the same value for the

employee; from a time perspective, the attractiveness of pay thereby decreases (see also

Kooij et al., 2011; Warr, 2001). Building on the life-span theory of control and

development (Heckhausen & Schulz, 1995; Heckhausen et al., 2010) and the idea of an

age-related shift toward greater use of secondary versus primary control strategies, it is

likely that the importance of motives that depend on external decisions such as an

income decrease with increasing age (see also Kooij et al., 2011). Similarly, Kanfer and

Ackerman (2004) assume, based on the idea of the perceived utility of one’s own work

performance, that younger employees derive a higher benefit from an increase in work

performance because it is associated with important extrinsic aspects such as higher

income. These motives become less important with increasing age. Thus, we can expect

that a high income should have a lower effect on job satisfaction among older compared

to younger employees:

Hypothesis 1: A high income will be less important for job satisfaction among older

workforces compared to younger workforces.

Likewise, we can draw assumptions for advancement opportunities. Building on the

life-span theory of control and development (Heckhausen & Schulz, 1995; Heckhausen

et al., 2010), the logic applied to income also applies to advancement. Because the

satisfaction of advancement motives often depends on external decisions that fall below

primary control strategies, their importance is likely to decrease with age (see also Kooij

et al., 2011). Similarly, Kanfer and Ackerman (2004) assume (building on the

performance–utility relationship) that younger employees derive a relatively higher

benefit from an increase in work performance, because it is associated with the extrinsic

reward of advancement (see also Kooij et al., 2011). This hypothesis has received some

empirical support: in the literature review by Rhodes (1983), four studies report a negative

relationship between age and growth motives (whereas seven studies find no relationship).

In their meta-analysis, Kooij et al. (2011) find a negative correlation between age and

growth motives. Thus, we can expect that advancement opportunities should have a lower

effect on job satisfaction among older employees:

Hypothesis 2: Advancement opportunities will be less important for job satisfaction

among older workforces compared to younger workforces.

Job security can be expected to be more important among older employees (Kanfer &

Ackerman, 2004; Kooij et al., 2011; Warr, 1997). This assumption is derived from

selection, optimization and compensation theory (Baltes et al., 1999) as well as the idea

that older individuals pay more attention to compensating age-related losses and

maintaining resources than to growth goals. Older adults seek to prevent further resource

losses (see also Freund, 2006). This can be transferred to job security in terms of

interpreting a job as a resource to the individual in need of protection. Furthermore, job

security may be of special relevance for older employees, because they might have greater

D. Drabe et al.788

difficulties to find a new job in most industrialized countries today. As seen in Rhodes

(1983), three out of four studies confirm a positive relationship between age and security

needs (one finds no relationship). In contrast, Kooij et al. (2011) report a negative

correlation between security motives (defined in their study as job security and

compensation) and age. Building on selection, optimization and compensation theory, we

propose:

Hypothesis 3: Job security will be more important for job satisfaction among older

workforces compared to younger workforces.

Having an interesting job correlates with large job content variety and can be seen as

the opposite of repetitive work tasks and routines (Inceoglu, Segers, & Bartram, 2012;

Warr, 2007). As specific routines and habits increase with age, variations from these

patterns are often unwelcome and might arouse fears among older employees (Warr,

2001). New, stimulating tasks might be perceived as less attractive among older

employees, because fluid intelligence is declining (Inceoglu et al., 2012). Furthermore,

Kanfer and Ackerman (2004) hypothesize that the age-related decline in fluid cognitive

abilities affects motivation via the amount of effort required to sustain performance.

Interesting jobs with a large variety of new and changing tasks typically demand higher

levels of fluid cognitive abilities. Consequently, increased effort is required among older

employees to achieve results similar to younger employees. An interesting job might

therefore be less important for older employee job satisfaction than for younger employee

job satisfaction. This view is also supported by empirical findings: Inceoglu et al. (2012)

show that interesting jobs’ importance decreases for age groups above 50 in comparison to

younger employees. Although she does not directly measure interesting job, Rhodes

(1983) reports that two out of three studies find a negative relationship between age and

self-actualization needs. In contrast, Kooij et al. (2011) find a positive correlation between

age and a bundle of intrinsic motives (in addition to interesting job, also comprising

autonomy, achievement, security, contribution to society, affiliation and development).

Following Kanfer and Ackerman (2004), we outline the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 4: Having an interesting job will be less important for job satisfaction

among older workforces compared to younger workforces.

Concerning independent work, we expect that its importance for job satisfaction will

decrease with age. In the life-span theory of control and development (Heckhausen &

Schulz, 1995; Heckhausen et al., 2010), it is assumed that older employees switch to

secondary control strategies and therewith to the willingness to bring oneself in line with

or to adapt to the work environment. Likewise, selection, optimization and compensation

theory supposes that older employees make use of dependence tactics rather than fighting

for independence:

Whereas the primary focus of the first half of life is the maximization of independence and autonomy, the goal-profile changes in old age. The productive and creative use of dependence rather than independence becomes critical. By invoking dependence and support, older people free up resources for use in other domains. (Baltes et al., 1999, p. 478)

Therefore, independent work should become less important for older employees’ job

satisfaction. Empirical support for this hypothesis is rare: Rhodes (1983) reports that the

three studies reviewed find no relationship between the need for autonomy and age. Again,

Kooij et al. (2011) report the mentioned positive correlation between age and their bundle

of intrinsic motives (including autonomy).

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 789

Hypothesis 5: Independent work will be less important for job satisfaction among older

workforces compared to younger workforces.

Building on the work of Carstensen (1992, 1995), we can draw assumptions on the

importance of social aspects of work life such as relationships with management and

colleagues. Socio-emotional selectivity theory supposes that aging shifts the motive for

social interaction away from gaining resources and toward the receiving of affective

rewards. Hence, social interactions are important to both young and old employees, yet for

different reasons: young employees aim for information exchange, while old employees

aim for strong emotional relationships. As a consequence, for older employees, good

relationships with people in the workplace, irrespective of their position, are more

important. However, for younger employees, the relationships to supervisors might be of

special value in order to follow their knowledge objective and to achieve promotion (since

advancement often depends on senior management decisions) (see also Kanfer &

Ackerman, 2004). Hence, we expect that good relationships with colleagues will be more

important for job satisfaction among older workforces, while good relationships with

management might also be important for younger employees owing to their instrumental

value and usefulness for future career development. Empirical findings are mixed: in the

review by Rhodes (1983), two out of three studies report a positive relationship between

affiliation needs and age, whereas Kooij et al. (2011) find a negative correlation between a

bundle of social motives (working with people, contributing to society, recognition and

status) and age.

Hypothesis 6: Good relationships with management will be equally important for job

satisfaction among older and younger workforces.

Hypothesis 7: Good relationships with colleagues will be more important for job

satisfaction among older workforces compared to younger workforces.

Cross-national and cross-cultural aspects in job characteristics-job satisfaction models

When addressing the relationship between situational job characteristics and job

satisfaction in a cross-national context, it is possible that the relationship between

situational job characteristics and job satisfaction may be influenced by national

characteristics. Several empirical studies have demonstrated that different situational job

characteristics’ importance vary across nations (e.g. Akhtar, 2000; Masuda et al., 2012;

Robert et al., 2000; Sousa-Poza & Sousa-Poza, 2000; Tangian, 2009). For instance, in their

cross-national analysis of 21 countries, Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza (2000) find that for

employees in Eastern Europe, a high income is more important for job satisfaction. The

two most prominent explanatory frameworks for these differences are socioeconomic

context and cultural differences (Huang & Van de Vliert, 2003).

Socioeconomic explanations are built on Maslow’s (1954) theory of motivation

(Huang & Van de Vliert, 2003). Maslow distinguishes between physiological and safety

needs (extrinsic), needs for love and belonging (social) and esteem and self-actualization

needs (intrinsic), which are hierarchically organized. He also assumes that lower needs

take priority and higher needs become activated if the lower needs are fulfilled. Building

on these assumptions, it can for instance be assumed that intrinsic job characteristics are

more important for job satisfaction in countries with a strong social security system.

In contrast, extrinsic needs should become more important in countries without a well-

developed social security system (Huang & Van de Vliert, 2003).

D. Drabe et al.790

Concerning the influence of national culture, for instance, Warr (2007) assumes that

the relevance of different antecedents of job satisfaction varies across culture owing to

different expectations concerning the nature of self and society. Hofstede, Hofstede, and

Minkov (2010) also note that different job characteristics might be valued differently in

different cultures, because living in a certain culture involves being exposed to valued

behaviors and role relationships. Job satisfaction is ‘likely to be in part socially

determined, being embedded in the network of meanings and values of a particular cultural

tradition’ (Warr, 2007, p. 283). Culture refers to a set of shared core values, norms and

modes of action (Ashkanasy & Jackson, 2002; Erez, 1994), and results in shared affective,

attitudinal and behavioral orientations (House, Wright, & Aditya, 1997). Accordingly,

cultural values prevalent in a nation are assumed to predispose how its members value

different job characteristics, which in turn should influence these job characteristics’

effects on job satisfaction (Erez, 1994; Huang & Van de Vliert, 2003, 2004). For instance,

Hofstede et al. (2010) argue that, in power distant cultures, centralization is popular, there

are more supervisory personnel, managers rely on superiors and formal rules, and

subordinates expect to be told what to do. Hence, it can be assumed that independent work

is valued lower in power distant cultures (see also Robert et al., 2000). Another example is

the influence of uncertainty avoidance: in cultures high in uncertainty avoidance, there are

fewer changes in employment and employees are motivated by security, esteem and

belonging (Hofstede et al., 2010). Hence, security and good relationships with managers

and colleagues can be assumed to be more important for job satisfaction in these cultures

(see also Kaasa, 2011; Punnett, Greenidge, & Ramsey, 2007).

The following empirical analysis is based on data from the USA, Japan and Germany,

which differ significantly concerning key socioeconomic factors as well as national culture.

Concerning socioeconomic factors, these three countries are comparable in terms of wealth,

but they differ markedly in terms of social or job security systems (e.g. Pudelko, 2006).

For instance, in the USA, job security depends more on economic development than in most

other countries, owing to the liberal system and minimal government interventions.

In contrast, the Japanese system builds on lifetime work contracts, while Germany has a

pronounced social security system. Besides these socioeconomic differences, the USA,

Japan and Germany also have very different national cultures. The latest cultural scores

provided by Taras, Steel, and Kirkman (2012) describe the USA as individualistic and with

fairly low levels of power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Japan’s national culture can

be characterized as masculine, high in uncertainty avoidance and developed to a comparably

low power distance culture. Finally, Germany is as individualistic as the USA, but has very

low levels of power distance, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance.

Owing to these differences, we assume that the relationship between job

characteristics and job satisfaction relationship is moderated not only by age but also

by national characteristics (see also Huang & Van de Vliert, 2003). As this paper focuses

on the moderating role of age, we do not formulate explicit hypotheses on national

differences but will comment on the results gained for the three countries analyzed

separately. Our overall research framework is presented in Figure 1.

Data and method

The sample

Our empirical analyses are based on data from the work orientation module of the

International Social Survey Program (ISSP) gathered in 2005 (ISSP Research Group,

2013). The ISSP is an international cooperation project that conducts attitude surveys on

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 791

different topics. It is unique in several ways. It is one of the few projects to gather

representative data worldwide: using a multistage stratified random sample procedure for

data collection, the ISSP dataset contains representative random samples of the adult

population in each participating country. The ISSP is also a continuous project with high-

quality standards. For instance, to minimize potential biases from different meanings and

connotations of a specific concept in different countries as well as to increase

questionnaire validity, it implements careful procedures, such as independent translations

and thorough discussion of questionnaires (ISSP Research Group, 2013). To our best

knowledge, no other research on the relationship between job characteristics and job

satisfaction meets these criteria.

We focus on data from Germany, the USA and Japan. In all three nations, we focus on

the responses of employees currently working full time or part time for pay (i.e. self-

employed people, retirees, housewives or housemen are not included). This results in

sample sizes of n ¼ 691 respondents for Germany, n ¼ 845 respondents for the USA and n ¼ 398 respondents for Japan.

Measures

Our dependent variable is overall job satisfaction, which was asked directly with the

following question: how satisfied are you in your (main) job? Response categories ranged

from 1 (completely dissatisfied) to 7 (completely satisfied).

The ISSP data contain several situational job characteristics from which we integrate

our seven key aspects: income, advancement, job security, interesting job, independent

work and good relationships with managers and colleagues. To estimate the respective

workplace situation, employees were asked to indicate their agreement with statements

such as my job is secure. Items were measured on scales from 1 to 5; to hypothesize only

about positive relationships, variables were recoded (see Table 2).

Age is a central independent variable. The ISSP data provide age directly. To

systematically compare different age groups, we built three categories: 35 years and

younger, 36–49 years and 50 years and older. These thresholds are adapted from previous

research: 50 years and older is often used as a threshold to define older employees

(Rhodes, 1983; Stamov-Roßnagel & Hertel, 2010; for an overview, see Bieling, 2011),

Figure 1. Research framework.

D. Drabe et al.792

and most authors use 35 years to define younger workforces (see Kooij et al., 2011; Ng &

Feldman, 2008).

As controls, we used gender (0 ¼ male, 1 ¼ female), degree (years of schooling) and work status (0 ¼ full time, 1 ¼ part time). Table 3 provides descriptive results for the basic sociodemographic variables per country. We identified no critical multicollinearity level

between our variables: variance inflation factors were always lower than 2.0 and thus

below the recommended threshold of 5. The correlations between our variables are

presented in Appendix 1.

The analysis technique

To demonstrate the influence of work-related motives and aging on job satisfaction, a

standard regression model is applied using ordinary least squares estimation. Job

satisfaction is the dependent variable, and the various situational job dimensions are our

independent constructs.

Table 2. Job satisfaction, job characteristics and measures.

Job characteristic Measurement Scale

Job satisfaction How satisfied are you in your (main) job?

1 (completely dissatisfied) to 7 (completely satisfied)

Income My income is high 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) (recoded)Advancement opportunities My opportunities for advance-

ment are high Job security My job is secure Interesting job My job is interesting Independent work I can work independently Good relationships with management

In general, how would you describe relations at your work- place between management and employees?

1 (very bad) to 5 (very good) (recoded)

Good relationships with colleagues

In general, how would you describe relations at your workplace between workmates/colleagues?

Table 3. Sociodemographic variables per country.

All USA Japan Germany

Gender Male 52.9% 50.9% 54.5% 54.6% Female 47.1% 49.1% 45.5% 45.4% Age #35 years 29.8% 32.3% 27.6% 28.0% 36–49 years 40.5% 41.5% 28.9% 45.9% $50 years 29.7% 26.1% 43.5% 26.1% Education (mean) 12.9 13.5 14.2 11.4 Work status Part time 16.0% 13.3% 19.6% 17.2% Full time 84.0% 86.7% 80.4% 82.8%

Source: ISSP; own calculations.

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 793

We will first estimate the situational driver model for each total national sample. This

is done to provide an overview of the national or cultural differences in certain job facets’

driving force on job satisfaction. Concerning analyzing the hypothesized moderation

effect between specific work-related motives and age, we will separately analyze and

compare two subgroups – older and younger workforces in each country – that is we will

compare workforces with employees who are at least 50 years old to workforces with

employees at or below 35. The comparison will be based on the unstandardized regression

coefficients, and a t-test is used to test whether the coefficients differ significantly (see the

procedure in Urban & Mayerl, 2006).

Results

Table 4 first provides the results (coefficients and quality criteria) for each country

individually and overall. In addition to the noted quality criteria, we conducted post hoc

power tests (in the form of F-tests on the regression models) on the overall as well as on

the country models using the software G*Power 3.1.3 (Faul, Erdfelder, Buchner, & Lang,

2009). For an alpha level of 0.01, statistical power was 1.00 for all models, which is above

the recommended threshold of 0.8. Thus, statistical power problems are not an issue.

The most important drivers of job satisfaction across all countries and age groups are

interesting job and good relationships with management. Hence, these job characteristics

are not very country-specific or culture-specific, although employees in the Japanese

sample place more emphasis on good relationships with managers than on interesting job,

in contrast to the other two nations. However, the further determinants of job satisfaction

Table 4. Situational antecedents of job satisfaction.

Country (Ref: USA) All USA Japan Germany

Japan 2 0.049** Germany 2 0.034* Gender (ref. female) 2 0.010 2 0.011 2 0.040 0.009 Age (ref. #35) 36–49 0.040* 0.038 0.036 0.044 $50 0.066*** 0.083*** 0.143** 2 0.003 Education 2 0.015 2 0.092*** 0.080* 2 0.075** Work status (ref. part time) Full time 2 0.001 0.000 2 0.009 0.002 Income 0.085*** 0.099*** 0.082 0.139*** Advancement opportunities

0.059*** 0.093*** 2 0.056 0.048

Job security 0.067*** 0.125*** 0.032 0.046 Interesting job 0.309*** 0.318*** 0.260*** 0.344*** Independent work 0.040* 2 0.019 0.092* 0.105*** Good relationships with management

0.288*** 0.288*** 0.306*** 0.211***

Good relationships with colleagues

0.115*** 0.124*** 0.130** 0.088**

R 2

0.396 0.432 0.337 0.401 R

2 adjusted 0.391 0.423 0.312 0.389

n 1934 845 389 691

Note: Standardized regression coefficients; ***p , 0.01; **p , 0.05; *p , 0.10. Source: ISSP; own calculations.

D. Drabe et al.794

differ considerably between the three nations. In the USA, almost all further variables are

significant determinants of job satisfaction. In descending order, these are: job security,

good relationships with colleagues, income and advancement opportunities. Only

independent work does not significantly affect job satisfaction in the USA. In Japan, job

satisfaction is further influenced through good relationships with colleagues and the

opportunity to work independently. Extrinsic job characteristics do not significantly

increase job satisfaction of Japanese employees. In Germany, income, working

independently and good relationships with colleagues are further significant job

satisfaction drivers, while advancement opportunities and job security have no significant

effect. While some of these differences seem to be immediately explainable by cultural or

socioeconomic factors, some are not; we discuss this later. Nonetheless, these differences

and thus this variety are a good starting point to analyze and interpret age’s moderating

role in the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction.

Table 5 provides the regression results for the two subgroups 35 years and younger and

50 years and older in each of the countries as well as overall. Again, we conducted power

tests for all subsamples analyzed. For an alpha level of 0.01, the lowest power level is with

a value of 0.99 – for the subsample of older employees in Japan. Thus, again, all values are

above the threshold of 0.8, and statistical power problems are not an issue.

Age’s moderating effect becomes more or less visible in different national and cultural

contexts, as expected, and was the reason we used samples from different cultures.

To interpret age’s moderating effect on the relationship between job characteristics and job

satisfaction, we need to distinguish between outcomes at the country level and across

countries. At the country level, we distinguish three situations: (1) If the driving force of a job

characteristic differs strongly between the age groups in a country (i.e. a positive significant

driver in one group and an insignificant driver in the other group, and/or a statistically

significant difference between the driving force within the two age groups), we will term this

effect as supporting or conflicting with our research hypotheses in this country. (2) If a job

characteristic is significant in both age groups, but there is no significant difference between

the coefficients, the job characteristic is relevant inboth age groups. This isin conflict with the

general tenor of our hypotheses, as the result is not age-dependent in this country. (3) If a job

characteristicisaninsignificantdeterminantofjobsatisfactioninbothagegroups,thedriveris

simply not relevant in that country, which also conflicts with the general tenor of our

hypotheses. Furthermore, in the analysis across countries, we will differentiate between (1)

nation-independentage effects(i.e.age effectsvalid for all countriesanalyzed) and (2) nation-

dependent age effects (i.e. age effects found in a certain country) (see Table 6).

Following this procedure, we find that age’s effect on the importance of job antecedents is

strongly nation-dependent. The only finding valid for all countries (i.e. nation-independent) is

the equal importance of good relationships with management among young and old

workforces (Hypothesis 6). All other effects are specific to the nation. Hypothesis 1, which

states that a high income is less important among older employees, is supported through

results in the German sample. In the USA, advancement opportunities are not an important

factor for older employees’ job satisfaction, as expected in Hypothesis 2. Job security is –

surprisingly, and contrary to our Hypothesis 3 – no significant driver of job satisfaction of

older employees in the USA and Japan, although it is a significant driver among younger

workforces. Hypothesis 4 predicted that an interesting job will be less important among older

employees.This is supported through the German sampleresults (here, the USA and Japanese

results also show the tendency to support this finding, yet are not statistically significant). In

Japan, independent work is less relevant to older workforces, as supposed in Hypothesis 5.

Hypothesis 7 addresses the influence of good relationships with colleagues; the notion that

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 795

T a b le

5 .

S it u a ti o n a l a n te c e d e n ts o f jo b sa ti sf a c ti o n in

d if fe re n t a g e g ro u p s.

A ll

U S A

J a p a n

G e rm

a n y

# 3 5

$ 5 0

# 3 5

$ 5 0

# 3 5

$ 5 0

# 3 5

$ 5 0

In c o m e

0 .0 8 5 * *

0 .0 7 5 *

0 .1 2 1 *

0 .1 5 2 * *

0 .0 1 8

0 .0 2 7

0 .1 7 3 * *

0 .0 8 8

A d v a n c e m e n t o p p o rt u n it ie s

0 .0 7 5 *

0 .0 4 2

0 .2 0 5 * * *

0 .0 7 6

2 0 .1 8 7

2 0 .0 5 7

2 0 .0 0 8

0 .0 0 4

Jo b se c u ri ty

0 .0 9 9 * *

0 .0 6 6 *

0 .2 0 8 * * *

0 .0 3 6 a

0 .1 8 5 *

0 .0 4 6

0 .0 3 4

0 .1 1 3

In te re st in g jo b

0 .4 6 7 * * *

0 .2 4 1 * * * a

0 .4 6 2 * * *

0 .3 8 5 * * *

0 .3 2 4 * * *

0 .1 8 3 * * *

0 .5 3 6 * * *

0 .2 2 0 * * a

In d e p e n d e n t w o rk

0 .0 5 1

0 .0 5 2

2 0 .0 1 5

0 .0 3 4

0 .2 0 7 * *

0 .0 5 5

0 .0 9 2

0 .1 0 3

G o o d re la ti o n sh ip s w it h m a n a g e m e n t

0 .3 4 9 * * *

0 .3 3 8 * * *

0 .3 1 5 * * *

0 .3 1 9 * * *

0 .5 6 5 * * *

0 .3 4 3 * * *

0 .2 2 4 * *

0 .2 9 8 * *

G o o d re la ti o n sh ip s w it h c o ll e a g u e s

0 .1 5 8 * * *

0 .2 4 8 * * *

0 .2 1 6 * * *

0 .2 6 5 * *

0 .2 5 3

0 .2 3 1

0 .0 0 9

0 .2 4 8 *

R 2

0 .4 4 5

0 .3 1 4

0 .5 0 2

0 .3 5 9

0 .4 4 6

0 .2 7 2

0 .4 2 5

0 .3 4 3

R 2 a d ju st e d

0 .4 3 2

0 .2 9 8

0 .4 8 2

0 .3 2 7

0 .3 7 4

0 .2 1 5

0 .3 9 1

0 .3 0 0

n 5 7 4

5 7 2

2 7 1

2 1 9

1 1 0

1 7 3

1 9 3

1 8 0

N o te : U n st a n d a rd iz e d re g re ss io n c o e ffi c ie n ts ; c o n tr o ls in c lu d e d : * * * p ,

0 .0 1 ; * * p ,

0 .0 5 ; * p ,

0 .1 0 .

S o u rc e : IS S P ; o w n c a lc u la ti o n s.

a S ig n ifi c a n t d if fe re n c e b e tw e e n y o u n g e r a n d o ld e r e m p lo y e e s (t -v a lu e s a re

p ro v id e d in

A p p e n d ix

2 ).

D. Drabe et al.796

relationships with colleagues are less important among younger employees is supported by

the German findings.

Discussion and conclusion

Theoretical implications

Our analysis shows that the relationships between different situational job characteristics

and job satisfaction are partially moderated by age. In Germany, older employees place

more emphasis on good relationships with colleagues and thus prioritize emotional values

independent from job status or rewards. In contrast, income and to have an interesting job

are less important to older employees’ job satisfaction. In the USA, older employees place

less emphasis on advancement opportunities and job security. Finally, in Japan, independent

work and job security are less important to job satisfaction among older employees.

Table 6. Overview of Hypotheses and Results.

Age-dependent effects No age-dependent effects

Hypotheses As hypothesized Contrary to hypothesis

Significant in both age groups

Insignificant in both age groups

H1: A high income will be less important for job satisfaction among older workforces

Germany USA, (All) Japan

H2: Advancement opportunities will be less important for job satisfac- tion among older workforces

USA, (All) Japan, Germany

H3: Job security will be more important for job satisfaction among older workforces

USA, Japan (All) Germany

H4: To have an interesting job will be less important for job satisfaction among older workforces

Germany, (All) USA, Japan

H5: Independent work will be less important for job satisfaction among older workforces

Japan USA, Germany, (All)

H6: Good relationships with management will be equally important for job satisfaction among older and younger workforces

USA, Japan, Germany, (All)

H7: Good relationships with colleagues will be more important for job satisfaction among older workforces

Germany USA, (All) Japan

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 797

These findings show that older employees’ job satisfaction is partially driven by

different factors than that of younger employees. Except for the findings regarding job

security, the respective differences can be explained through the assumptions outlined

in the theories on age’s influence on personal needs, values or goals. Hence, existing

theoretical approaches like selection, optimization and compensation theory (Baltes

et al., 1999), socio-emotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, 1995), the life-span

theory of control and development (Heckhausen & Schulz, 1995; Heckhausen et al.,

2010) and Kanfer and Ackerman’s (2004) framework are valuable sources to

understand how the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction is

influenced by age. However, the results are in almost all cases nation-dependent

which negates the universal applicability of these theories. The relationship between

situational job characteristics and job satisfaction as well as age’s moderating role is

strongly influenced by national surroundings and culture. The determinants of job

satisfaction differ considerably between the three nations, and some job characteristics

are only relevant in a specific country and have no influence in others. These

differences can partially be explained by socioeconomic and cultural differences. For

instance, job security’s relatively high importance in the USA can be explained

through its weak social security systems (Pudelko, 2006). In contrast, Japan and

Germany have either institutionalized job security or pronounced social security

systems, which may explain job security’s fairly weak importance in these countries.

A similar argument can be made for income and advancement opportunities, which

have a comparatively high influence in the USA. Furthermore, cultural differences

may also account for the unequal importance of different job characteristic: having an

interesting job is even more important for job satisfaction in the USA and Germany,

compared to Japan. This might be attributable to higher individualism in the USA and

Germany.

The absence of an effect in a country influences the possibility that age moderates

this effect. When comparing the motives of different age groups, we assumed – on the

basis of different theoretical approaches – that all job characteristics are important in at

least one age group, i.e. either for the younger or for the older employees. In contrast to

these assumptions, our findings have shown that this must not necessarily be the case,

because a certain job characteristic can have no importance in a country. For instance, in

Germany, we found no age-related differences for job security and advancement

opportunities, simply because these aspects are fairly unimportant for German

employees’ job satisfaction. However, even if socioeconomic and cultural differences

have some explanatory value, there are also some findings for which a better

understanding of the fundamental relationships is needed. For instance, our findings

show that our assumptions regarding the influence of an interesting job hold in Germany,

but not in the USA. Both countries are rather individualistic, which explains the high

influence of an interesting job generally, but it is not clear why there are age-related

differences in one country but not in the other. Here, we see a strong need for future

research and theory building.

In sum, it can be stated that our findings underline the importance of conducting

cross-cultural or cross-national aging research. To date, the theoretical approaches on

adult development and age-related changes in motivation do not account for cross-

national or cross-cultural differences and, instead, assume universalistic relationships.

However, an integration of these aspects seems to be critical in order for us to fully

understand age’s moderating role in the relationship between job characteristics and job

satisfaction.

D. Drabe et al.798

Practical implications

Our analysis strongly supports the need for age diversity management. Older employees

have partially different motives, values and goals; their job satisfaction thus depends on

different factors than younger employees. An age-diverse workforce can be handled

successfully only if these differencesare addressedproperlythrough adequate HR practices.

This concerns for example the design of compensation systems. The fact that income is less

important for older employees in Germany can be used to shift the focus away from income

increases, which frees up financial resources that can now be used for factors that are more

important to older employees or in order to further motivate younger employees.

Concerning the design of jobs in terms of content and roles, we find that interesting job

is less important to older employees, and no longer need to be the focus of HR managers

concerning older employees. Interesting job is one of the key drivers of job satisfaction

and should always play a major role in the design of jobs and the selection of employees

for certain tasks. Nonetheless, new challenges and new or further roles connected to the

opportunity to qualify for new jobs or roles are less important means to satisfy older

workforces, who may feel fairly comfortable with their job habits and routines in daily

business. There is also less need for advancement among older employees from the USA.

Related HR practices in the USA should especially address the motivation of younger

employees.

Age diversity management should also make use of the increased importance of social

work aspects, such as good relationships with colleagues (e.g. in Germany). The exchange

between older and younger employees should be stimulated in order to enable

intergenerational learning and knowledge transfer, which satisfy both younger employees’

wish for knowledge and information, and older employees’ wish for good relationships

with colleagues. This knowledge transfer is of special relevance and will become even

more important, as firms now face a huge loss of knowledge owing to high retirements

among the baby boomer generation (Leibold & Voelpel, 2006; Long, 2004). Here,

mentoring could be very fruitful: older, experienced employees serve as mentors to new,

young colleagues for a predefined period in order to transfer know-how that is not directly

documented to their young colleagues. For mentoring programs to be successful, HR

managers need to create the appropriate environment (e.g. mentor qualifications, building

appropriate teams, offering time slots for these kinds of tasks during daily business)

(Sporket, 2011; Stock-Homburg, 2008).

These measures might be useful in order to increase job satisfaction and further

positive outcomes such as motivation, employee engagement, loyalty and high

performance among workforces (Shen, Chanda, D’Netto, & Monga, 2009). However, it

has become clear that age diversity management is not independent from other diversity

dimensions. On the contrary, age diversity management must be seen in the broader

national and cultural context that defines the usefulness and success of HRM practices

(Pudelko, 2006).

Limitations and recommendations for further research

This study is not without limitations. Regarding the chosen measures, the surveys consist

of self-reported measures, that is the results may suffer from common method variance.

Following Lindell and Whitney (2001) (see also Williams, Hartman, & Cavazotte, 2010),

we applied a marker variable analysis to test for common method variance. Correlations

between the marker variable (the number of people in the household) and the dependent

and independent variables in our model reached between r ¼ 0.003 (good relationships

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 799

with colleagues) to a maximum of r ¼ 0.025 (advancement opportunities), indicating that common method bias is not a serious problem. Furthermore, we used one item to

measure overall job satisfaction and single items to measure the job characteristics.

However, the use of single items for the several job characteristics is justifiable, as the

incorporated constructs (e.g. my income is high) are fairly concrete rather than abstract

(see the discussion on single-item vs. multi-item measures in Bergkvist & Rossiter, 2007;

Sarstedt & Wilczynski, 2009). Past research has also shown that single-item job

satisfaction measures are reliable measures (e.g. Wanous, Reichers, & Hudy, 1997).

Nevertheless, future research will benefit from the integration of different job satisfaction

dimensions in order to validate the results and to get a more comprehensive picture.

Finally, our study included a fairly narrow set of cultural environments. By using data

from the USA, Japan and Germany, we included three major economies with very

different cultural backgrounds. However, more cultural environments can be integrated in

future studies.

By analyzing age’s moderating role in the relationship between situational job

characteristics and job satisfaction, we contribute substantially to literature on diversity

management, because our theoretical assumptions and empirical findings provide concrete

recommendations for age diversity management. Some open questions remain. One major

aspect concerns the connections between age-related effects and national characteristics,

such as culture, which need deeper analysis. Furthermore, future research should also

address the potential influence and interaction concerning other subgroups such as gender

or management level, to get a deeper understanding of the differences related to age. These

and the abovementioned recommendations represent primary routes for gaining further

insights into the theoretical intricacies and practical implications of successful age

diversity management. Our study and results are nonetheless a significant step forward in

illuminating the needs of older workforces and in choosing measures to satisfy these

needs.

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A p p e n d ix

1 .

D e sc r ip ti v e st a ti st ic s a n d c o r r e la ti o n s

M e a n

S D

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

9 1 0

1 1

1 2

1 3

1 4

1 5

1 6

1 7

1 U S A

0 .4 4

0 .5 0

1 2

Ja p a n

0 .2 1

0 .4 0

2 0 .4 4 8 * *

1 3

G e rm

a n y

0 .3 6

0 .4 8

2 0 .6 5 7 * *

2 0 .3 8 0 * *

1 4

S e x

0 .4 7

0 .5 0

0 .0 3 6

2 0 .0 1 6

2 0 .0 2 4

1 5

A g e

# 3 5

0 .3 0

0 .4 6

0 .0 4 8 *

2 0 .0 2 4

2 0 .0 2 9

2 0 .0 1 5

1 6

A g e 3 6 – 4 9

0 .4 0

0 .4 9

0 .0 1 9

2 0 .1 2 0 * *

0 .0 8 2 * *

0 .0 2 5

2 0 .5 3 7 * *

1 7

A g e

$ 5 0

0 .3 0

0 .4 6

2 0 .0 6 9 * *

0 .1 5 4 * *

2 0 .0 5 9 *

2 0 .0 1 3

2 0 .4 2 4 * *

2 0 .5 3 6 * *

1 8

E d u c a ti o n

1 2 .8 9

5 .2 3

0 .1 0 6 * *

0 .1 2 6 * *

2 0 .2 1 3 * *

0 .0 5 2 *

0 .0 1 5

0 .0 1 6

2 0 .0 3 2

1 9

W o rk

st a tu s

0 .1 6

0 .3 7

2 0 .0 6 5 * *

0 .0 5 0 *

0 .0 2 5

0 .2 9 3 * *

0 .0 1 5

2 0 .0 4 6 *

0 .0 3 5

2 0 .0 0 7

1 1 0 Jo b se c u ri ty

3 .7 4

1 .1 6

0 .0 4 4

2 0 .0 4 7 *

2 0 .0 0 6

0 .0 3 2

2 0 .0 0 1

2 0 .0 1 2

0 .0 1 3

0 .0 5 6 *

2 0 .0 0 2

1 1 1 In c o m e

2 .6 5

1 .1 0

0 .0 1 8

2 0 .0 1 1

2 0 .0 0 9

2 0 .1 1 7 * *

2 0 .0 3 2

0 .0 4 5 *

2 0 .0 1 6

0 .1 3 1 * *

2 0 .1 1 3 * * 0 .3 4 1 * * 1

1 2 A d v a n c e m e n t

o p p o rt u n it ie s

2 .6 5

1 .1 4

.1 6 3 * *

2 0 .2 5 6 * *

0 .0 4 5 *

2 0 .1 1 0 * *

0 .1 1 0 * *

0 .0 4 4

2 0 .1 5 8 * *

0 .0 1 6

2 0 .1 5 6 * * 0 .2 6 5 * * 0 .3 5 8 * *

1

1 3 In te re st in g

jo b

3 .9 4

1 .0 2

0 .0 6 8 * *

2 0 .2 1 7 * *

0 .1 1 2 * *

0 .0 1 8

2 0 .0 4 1

0 .0 6 3 * *

2 0 .0 2 6

0 .0 6 4 * *

2 0 .0 4 9 *

0 .1 8 4 * * 0 .2 0 8 * * 0 .2 7 9 * *

1

1 4 In d e p e n d e n t

w o rk

3 .6 9

1 .2 5

0 .1 1 9 * *

2 0 .4 4 7 * *

0 .2 5 5 * *

2 0 .0 1 2

2 0 .0 6 0 * *

0 .0 6 1 * *

2 0 .0 0 5

2 0 .0 4 6 *

2 0 .0 4 1

0 .1 1 7 * * 0 .1 0 5 * * 0 .2 0 2 * * 0 .3 4 5 * *

1

1 5 G o o d

re la ti o n sh ip s

w it h

m a n a g e m e n t

3 .8 8

0 .9 3

2 0 .0 5 0 *

2 0 .1 0 9 * *

0 .1 4 3 * *

0 .0 5 8 *

2 0 .0 1 6

2 0 .0 0 7

0 .0 2 4

2 0 .0 1 8

0 .0 8 8 * * 0 .2 4 0 * * 0 .1 3 4 * * 0 .1 6 5 * * 0 .2 4 8 * * 0 .1 8 0 * *

1

1 6 G o o d

re la ti o n sh ip s

w it h

c o ll e a g u e s

4 .1 7

0 .7 7

2 0 .0 3 9

2 0 .1 1 4 * *

0 .1 3 7 * *

0 .0 2 7

0 .0 0 0

2 0 .0 2 9

0 .0 3 1

0 .0 1 4

0 .0 9 2 * * 0 .1 2 8 * * 0 .0 9 6 * * 0 .1 0 8 * * 0 .2 2 2 * * 0 .1 2 1 * * 0 .5 5 0 * *

1

1 7 Jo b

sa ti sf a c ti o n

5 .2 7

1 .2 0

0 .0 6 6 * *

2 0 .1 9 5 * *

0 .0 9 7 * *

0 .0 1 0

2 0 .0 6 8 * *

0 .0 3 3

0 .0 3 3

0 .0 1 8

2 0 .0 0 3

0 .2 5 5 * * 0 .2 5 1 * * 0 .2 6 3 * * 0 .4 7 1 * * 0 .2 6 1 * * 0 .4 7 6 * * 0 .3 6 9 * *

1

* * * p ,

0 .0 1 ; * * p ,

0 .0 5 ; * p ,

0 .1 0 .

D. Drabe et al.804

Appendix 2. t-test results of the differences between unstandardized regression coefficients in different age groups

All USA Japan Germany

Income 0.164 0.322 0.069 0.779 Advancement opportunities 0.542 1.369 0.875 0.117 Job security 0.583 1.762

a 1.146 0.851

Interesting job 3.550 a

0.670 1.161 2.668 a

Independent work 0.018 0.478 1.461 0.090 Good relationships with management 0.139 0.035 1.183 0.479 Good relationships with colleagues 0.975 0.360 0.100 1.410

Note: Absolute t-values of the difference test between unstandardized regression coefficients ‘b’ in the two age groups (#35 and $50): jtj ¼ j(b#35 2 b$50)/

p (SE#35

2 þ SE$502 )j; SE is the standard error. a Significant difference between younger and older employees.

The International Journal of Human Resource Management 805

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