Page 248 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

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SHORE AND GOLDBERG
younger and older employees (Mitchell v. Sisters of Charity of Incarnate
Word, 1996).
Given the increasing numbers of older workers, it is critical that or­
ganizations understand how older employees learn best, and factors in
the work context, including age discrimination and lack of technical sup­
port, that may prevent learning and developmental opportunities for older
workers. As stated by Maurer and Rafuse (2001), "an over-arching recom­
mendation is to treat all workers, regardless of age, on an individual basis,
taking into consideration their own performance and capabilities, and not
to treat individuals simply as members of an age group" (p. 119).
Careers
Career opportunities are important to workers of all ages. Cleveland and
Shore (1992) found younger workers were more likely than older workers
to receive career counseling with the supervisor. Salthouse and Maurer
(1996) describe some other potential impediments to the career develop­
ment of older employees, including lower communication levels in age-
diverse workgroups, assignment to more routine jobs, and lower likelihood
of being selected for training and retraining experiences. In addition, Ohlott
and Eastman (1994) found that older managers reported fewer task-related
challenges than younger managers.
The trend from a single career in one organization to a "protean" career
that can involve many organizations and career shifts has presented some
significant challenges for older employees (Hall & Mirvis, 1995). Older
workers may be less likely to engage in continuous learning critical to a
protean career because of their own tendency to approach training and
development with caution and because of age discrimination that leads to
more investment in younger workers (Maurer& Barbeite, 2001). Rosen and
Jerdee (1988) recommended that organizations experiment with new career
management strategies for older workers, such as formalizing new men­
toring and consulting roles for senior employees, allowing for part-time
work and short sabbaticals, and providing frequent training and develop­
ment opportunities. They argued that these strategies would be beneficial
for both older individuals and for the organizations that employ them.
Finkelstein, Allen, and Rhoton (2000) studied age and mentoring and
reported that the mentoring literature discussed the "ideal" mentoring re­
lationship as one in which the protege is at least 8 to 15 years younger than
the mentor. They found that younger proteges reported receiving more
frequent career-related mentoring, and that mentors reported spending
fewer hours per week with their protege as protege age increased. Un­
expectedly, older proteges reported higher relationship quality than did