How managers and retirees perceive each other: an exploratory study

Abstract

This paper explores: (a) the attitudes of managers toward older workers; (b) the perceptions of retirees about their past experiences as employees. The attitudes of 14 managers were explored through semi-structured interviews. The perceptions of retirees were measured through 4 focus groups (with 6-8 retirees). The main findings are as follows: (a) managers, especially the older ones, recognize that older workers have positive characteristics (e.g., extensive knowledge and experience, wisdom, wide relationship network, organizational loyalty); (b) however, managers they (especially the younger ones) also have negative perceptions about older workers (e.g., older workers reject training, are less motivated to work). The retirees argue that: (a) they would like to have had more opportunities to continue to learn and improve their skills; (b) they felt more committed to the job at the end of their careers. Some of them also reveal that if that had been proposed to them, they would have continued to work beyond the typical retirement age. The study has several limitations, including the fact that convenience and small size samples have been used. In addition, (a) managers and retirees belonged to different organizations and (b) moderating variables, such as education, sector of activity or hierarchical level, were not considered. Future studies should include larger samples, explore managers-retired dyads, and include moderators. Preconceived ideas that managers have about older workers may have perverse effects on motivation and identification with the organization of those workers. With the increase of the retirement age, the effect of these biases intensifies. Measures to reduce these erroneous conceptions are necessary. Empirical studies on the perceptions/attitudes of managers and retirees toward each other are scarce, mainly in the Portuguese business context.