Page 253 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

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invoke societal norms (i.e., employees are supposed to be younger than
their managers), such norms may be superceded by occupational, organi­
zational, or industrial norms. Whereas different standards of comparison
have been used across different conceptual models and empirical studies,
as yet there has been little exploration of why a particular age standard is
chosen or how each may operate to influence decisions about employees.
Step 2 consists of target-standard comparisons in which a determination is
made on the particular features of the standard and target the comparison
is to be based. If a hiring manager uses the workgroup norms for compar­
ative purposes, then age and its associated meaning (e.g., "behind time")
must be identified as a feature that will be used in the comparison pro­
cess. If the employee is much older or younger than current employees,
then age and its associated meaning is likely to become a salient feature
for comparison purposes. Step 3 involves using the information generated
in step 2 for evaluation purposes. In the example above, the hiring man­
ager may decide that the applicant who is substantially older than current
employees is "behind time" and is thus a poor fit with the job.
In Fig. 9.2, the target employee and observers are both sources of social
comparison. That is, the individual is compared with others, but also com­
pares him or herself with others. In fact, employees through their behavior
and communication (e.g., discussions of retirement plans with cowork­
ers) may influence observers' perceptions and choice of standard used for
comparison purposes. Likewise, observers may influence self-assessments
through decisions and treatment of employees. For example, subordinates
who jokingly call their manager "the old man" may cause the manager to
think of himself as old.
Clearly, despite the extensive literature on aging at work, there are many
questions that remain unanswered. Of particular importance is to under­
stand more clearly the cognitive processes that contribute to age discrimi­
nation. Also, additional work is needed on the ways in which organizations
can improve opportunities for older workers. As the work force becomes
older, it is in the best interests of both employees and organizations to con­
tribute to improved opportunities for the development, performance, and
retention of older workers.

REFERENCES

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