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Researchers and practitioners often focus on the influence of individual characteristics, such as cognitive and physical functioning, on employees鈥櫬犅爓hereas organizational level factors have been largely neglected. However, recent research in organizational psychology demonstrates that companies鈥� cultures and climates for successful aging can be powerful predictors of older workers鈥� motivation, performance, and well-being.

What are organizational cultures and climates for successful aging?

The concept of聽聽describes the shared values and beliefs of employees working for a company; it is influenced by factors such as the company鈥檚 history, line of industry, and leadership. Its sister concept,聽, refers to employees鈥� shared perceptions of their company鈥檚 policies, procedures, and practices. An organization鈥檚 culture is thought to influence its climate which, in turn, impacts on employees鈥� motivation, performance, and well-being. By extension, organizational cultures and climates for successful aging entail how older employees and age management practices are collectively perceived by company members.

Are there differences between companies in their organizational cultures and climates for successful aging?

In a recent聽, a colleague and I collected data from 274 employees working for 66 small and medium-sized businesses in Australia. We asked employees to rate how older workers were seen in their company with regard to characteristics such as 鈥渆fficient,鈥� 鈥渇lexible,鈥� 鈥渕otivated,鈥� and 鈥渞eliable.鈥� Results showed that employees聽within聽each company agreed on their assessments of organizational culture for successful aging, whereas there were substantial differences聽产别迟飞别别苍听companies as to how older workers were perceived. Thus, our findings provided empirical evidence that organizational cultures for successful aging exist.

How can companies create organizational cultures and climates for successful aging?

The research evidence to date suggests that companies鈥� leadership, human resource (HR) practices, and the composition of the workforce impact on the emergence of organizational cultures and climates for successful aging. In our Australian study, we found that聽聽was particularly positive in companies led by older CEOs with positive attitudes toward older workers. By contrast, culture ratings were lower in companies led by young CEOs and CEOs with negative attitudes about older workers. Another聽聽with small and medium-sized companies in Germany showed that age-inclusive HR practices, such as age-neutral recruiting activities and equal opportunities for training and promotion, had a positive effect on age-diversity climate 鈥� that is, employees鈥� shared perceptions of how well age diversity was managed in their organization.

The composition of a company鈥檚 workforce also has been shown to influence organizational climate for successful aging. A聽聽from 2011 showed that the more age diversity there was in a company, the higher the age discrimination climate, or employees鈥� shared perceptions of age discriminatory practices. A聽聽from the same team of researchers showed that the negative effects of age diversity on age discrimination climate are attenuated when companies have diversity-friendly HR policies in place and when their top managers have low levels of negative age stereotypes.

What are the outcomes of organizational age cultures and climates?

At the individual level, recent findings from my lab suggests that an organizational culture for successful aging has positive effects on older workers鈥� job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and motivation to continue working after traditional retirement age. At the organizational level, research showed that聽聽has negative effects on employees鈥� collective commitment and firm performance. Moreover, a positive聽聽was linked to higher company performance and lower collective turnover intentions among employees.

What have we learned?

Organizational culture and climate can have important influences on the extent to which employees can age successfully at work. Positive cultures and climates impact on older employees鈥� attitudes and well-being, as well as company outcomes such as firm performance and turnover. Practitioners can create organizational cultures and climates for successful aging by training company leaders, implementing age-inclusive HR strategies, and actively managing their increasingly age-diverse workforces.