Cumulative Evidence of the Relationship Between Employee Age and Job Performance

Abstract

On the basis of a review of 22 years of articles published in 46 behavioral science journals, we found a total of 96 independent studies that reported age–performance correlations. Total sample size was 38,983 and represented a broad cross-section of jobs and age groups. Meta-analysis procedures revealed that age and job performance generally were unrelated. Furthermore, there was little evidence that the type of performance measure (ratings vs. productivity measures) or type of job (professional vs. nonprofessional) moderated the relation between age and performance significantly. However, for very young employees the relation between age and job performance was consistent and modestly positive. Implications of these results for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved