Developing age-inclusive mindsets in future managers: insights from a classroom intervention.

Area of Science:

• Organizational Psychology
• Gerontology
• Human Resources Management

Background:

• Increasing labor force participation of older workers presents management challenges.
• Understanding and improving intergenerational workplace dynamics is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a brief classroom intervention on management students' attitudes toward older workers.
• To assess students' willingness to collaborate with older colleagues post-intervention.

Main Methods:

• A classroom intervention combining aging knowledge feedback and older worker testimonials.
• Pre- and post-intervention surveys administered to 208 undergraduates.
• Follow-up surveys conducted after 1 month with 92 participants.

Main Results:

• Significant immediate improvements in perceptions of older workers' adaptability, conscientiousness, generosity, performance, and value.
• Enhanced willingness to work with older employees post-intervention.
• Sustained improvements in adaptability perceptions at follow-up; generosity consistently predicted willingness.

Conclusions:

• Brief, blended interventions can positively shift attitudes toward older workers.
• Interventions should address both competence and affective/relational aspects of ageism.
• Enhanced perceptions of adaptability and generosity are key to fostering positive intergenerational attitudes.