Examining Positive and Negative Perceptions of Older Workers: A Meta-Analysis

Objective. This article presents an updated meta-analysis of field and laboratory studies that examine the influence of age on a number of evaluative workplace outcomes (advancement, selection, general evaluations, interpersonal skills, and reliability). Method. A random effects meta-analytic procedure was used. Results. In line with the perspective that perceptions of older workers are multidimensional, the observed meta-analytic correlations indicate that age has medium-sized negative effects on majority of the outcomes investigated (r advancement = −.21, r selection = −.30, r general evaluations = −.24, and r interpersonal skills = −.23, and a medium-sized positive effect on perceptions of reliability (r reliability = .31). Additionally, evidence of moderation by study design for the selection outcome is presented, such that within-subjects designs elicit stronger effects of age than between-subjects designs. Discussion. The present study demonstrates that it is likely that older workers are not viewed entirely negatively or entirely positively in the workplace; rather, the perceptions of older workers are more are varied, and even positive in some cases.