Sustainable employment: the importance of intrinsically valuable work and an age-supportive climate

TLDR

Sustainable employment refers to workers’ ability and willingness to remain employed now and in the future, a concern heightened by an aging workforce. The study seeks to determine how organizations can design work contexts that promote sustainable employment. Using a questionnaire of 119 office employees (35 % response) from a Dutch public transport organization, the authors examined the effects of intrinsic job value and an age‑supportive climate on employability, work engagement, and affective commitment. Structural equation modeling showed intrinsic job value strongly predicted all three sustainable employment indicators across ages, while an age‑supportive climate particularly benefited older employees’ work engagement and affective commitment, underscoring its importance for practice and research.

Abstract

The aging workforce emphasizes the importance of sustainable employment, that is the extent to which workers are able and willing to remain working now and in the future . This raises the question how organizations can design work contexts that contribute to sustainable employment. This study investigated the role of a intrinsically motivating job (intrinsic job value) and an age-supportive climate for three indicators of employees' sustainable employment: employability, work engagement and affective commitment. The questionnaire was completed by 119 office employees (response 35%) of a Dutch public transport organization. A SEM analysis revealed that intrinsic job value was strongly and positively related with all three indicators of sustainable employment for employees of all ages. In contrast, an age-supportive climate was especially important for older employees' work engagement and affective commitment. This study has implications for practice and for research of sustainable employment, HRM and aging.