What’s age got to do with it? The effect of board member age diversity : a systematic review

The current research is a systematic review of 54 empirical papers from 1996 to 2022 which aim to investigate whether board member age diversity influences a firm’s financial and non-financial outcomes. Analysis of the extant research reveals board member age diversity to be an inconsistent predictor of both the financial and non-financial performance of a firm. Apart from CSR performance, which was found to more consistently be positively associated with age diversity, most studies included in the review failed to identify age diversity as a significant predictor of firm outcomes, however several positive, negative and curvilinear relationships were found by some studies. The lack of a consistent trend of significant associations may indicate that age diverse boards perform no better or worse than non-diverse boards or, more likely, given the inconsistent pattern of results, this research highlights that there may be other factors, such as team processes or task characteristics, which differentially impact whether age diversity has a positive, negative, curvilinear or no effect on outcomes. The current work is the first to systematically evaluate the available data on board age diversity and provides a clear account of what is known and what is not known about the relationship between board member age diversity and financial and non-financial outcomes. This study offers important insights and practical recommendations to researchers, HRM practitioners and policy makers interested in understanding how board composition factors influence the performance of corporate boards.</p

Evaluating the quality of WHS disclosures by ASX100 companies: Is mandatory WHS reporting necessary?

The current research aims to evaluate the quality of work health and safety (WHS) disclosures by the top 100 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX100) with the view to determining whether mandatory WHS reporting may assist in improving health and safety standards. The 2018 and 2019 annual reports of ASX100 companies were analysed for WHS reporting of injury, illness, near misses and fatalities. Content analysis revealed that very few companies reported WHS metrics; however, companies in more hazardous industries reported more than those in less hazardous industries. Of the metrics that were reported, lagging rather than the more valid and predictive leading metrics were presented. Very few companies disclosed content related to the number of current or ongoing internal or external investigations of serious injury or near misses. These findings demonstrate a lack of reporting overall, as well as inconsistencies in the quality of WHS reporting across companies. Given that the primary purpose of WHS reporting is to improve standards to safeguard workers, the current work suggests that voluntary reporting provides inadequate protection. Mandatory WHS reporting of specific indices by publicly listed companies in their annual reports is proposed as a potential solution to improve and standardise reporting quality and quantity. This form of regulation would also ensure parity of information disclosure among firms and reduce information asymmetries. The need for and merit of standardised reporting, as well as how best to achieve this via policy and practice, are discussed.</p

The Aging Workforce

By 2050, one in six people in the world, and one in four people in developed countries, will be over 65 years in age. The increasing proportion of older individuals is resulting in significant fiscal, healthcare, and social welfare challenges. Governments around the globe see prolonging the working lives of aging workers as a key strategy to delaying the widespread negative impacts of an aging workforce. Although the workforce participation of aging workers is now at its peak, many workers across the globe are choosing to retire well below the normal government-issued pension age. In some countries at least (such as France, Italy, and Norway), premature exit from the workforce is the norm rather than the exception. This chapter aims to provide insights into the working life of aging workers, with the view to investigate how aging impacts the individual worker’s psychological health and wellbeing as well as performance and engagement at work. The chapter also aims to evaluate organizational initiatives and identify what organizations can do to better support aging workers

The Power of Personality at Work: Core Self-Evaluations Earnings in the United Kingdom

Organisations are increasingly taking an interest in personality as certain traits purportedly predict desirable attitudes and behaviours. We examine the relationship between one increasingly popular construct—Core Self-Evaluations (CSEs)—and earnings. We argue that if high levels of CSEs really are valuable traits, then high CSE individuals should be observed to earn more than those with moderate or low levels of CSEs. Using the nationally-representative British Household Panel Survey, we find little evidence that individuals with very high CSEs earn more than those with only moderate levels. However, we do find the existence of a pay penalty for individuals very low in CSEs. Similar patterns emerge for the Big Five model of traits. Although the exact mechanisms remain unclear, our findings imply that organisations should play a greater role in the career development of employees scoring lowly in ‘desirable’ traits—especially in a context of increasing career fluidity

The core self-evaluation scale : A replication of bi-factor dimensionality, reliability, and criterion validity

The core self-evaluation scale (CSES) is the most popularly used measure of core self-evaluations. However, recent research has highlighted the potential existence of a negative wording factor (NWF) associated with the negatively-worded items of the CSES. Discounting the effects of a NWF may lead to biased estimates of the reliability and criterion-related validity of the CSES. The current research investigated whether the NWF found in previous research could be replicated in three Australian samples, which consisted of both students and adult community volunteers. Results revealed that the NWF provided a better model fit than the unifactor model but was inferior to an alternative model which measured a positive wording factor (PWF). However, the NWF model possessed equivalent composite reliability to the unifactor model in Study 1, but slightly superior composite reliability in Study 2 and Study 3. In addition, the NWF possessed poorer criterion validity estimates for both life satisfaction and career satisfaction. Contrasts to previous research which has substantiated the claim of a NWF in the CSES, and recommendations for research and practice are discussed.</p

Beware the politically skilled maverick:political skill interacts with maverickism to predict unethical decision-making

PurposeAcross two studies, the current research investigates whether individuals high in maverickism, which incorporates tendencies of creativity, risk-taking, goal-orientation and disruption are likely to make poorer ethical decisions and whether political skill promotes or hinders good ethical judgment.Design/methodology/approachParticipants completed an online questionnaire and an ethical dilemma.FindingsResults with UK (Study 1, N = 300) and Australian workers (Study 2, N = 217) revealed that political skill significantly moderated the maverickism-unethical decision-making relationship. Unethical decision-making was highest for those high in maverickism and political skill.Research limitations/implicationsResults highlight that for individuals high in maverickism, political skill facilitates rather than reduces the breaching of ethical norms.Practical implicationsResults show that while political skill has traditionally been seen as adaptive in organizations, being politically skilled can contribute to engaging in unethical behavior.Originality/valueThis research provides a new and interesting view of how being politically skilled can negatively impact ethical behavior and identifies another individual difference variable, maverickism, which predicts unethical behavior.<br/

Are employer-dismissed older workers adequately compensated? Comparison of Australian and UK age discrimination and dismissal cases

This paper focuses on the legal remedies for age discrimination and dismissal of older workers, identifying the factors that courts and tribunals in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) consider when calculating compensation for two forms of damages: injury to feelings and future losses. A secondary aim is to determine whether these factors adequately consider the unique workforce participation challenges faced by older workers in both countries. Considering the similarities between Australian and UK age discrimination law and given that the latter jurisdiction has had considerably more successful cases than the former, this study adopts a comparative approach and draws on UK cases to inform the development of Australian age discrimination law. Analysis of all successful Australian and a selection of successful UK age discrimination and dismissal cases spanning from 2017 to 2020 suggests that Australian law might be strengthened by: adopting a scale of awards similar to the guidelines established in Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2002] EWCA Civ 1871 (‘ Vento’) for recognising and awarding injury to feelings; and by more readily awarding future losses, particularly for claimants who plan to work or who are already working past retirement age

Workplace mavericks: how personality and risk-taking propensity predicts maverickism

We examine the relationship between lateral preference, the Five-Factor Model of personality, risk-taking propensity, and maverickism. We take an original approach by narrowing our research focus to only functional aspects of maverickism. Results with 458 full-time workers identify lateral preference as a moderator of the neuroticism–maverickism relationship. Extraversion, openness to experience, and low agreeableness were also each found to predict maverickism. The propensity of individuals high in maverickism to take risks was also found to be unaffected by task feedback. Our results highlight the multifaceted nature of maverickism, identifying both personality and task conditions as determinants of this construct

Some rules should be broken: Developing a measure of constructive rule beliefs

In this study we developed a scale to measure individual differences in constructive rule beliefs; a newly defined construct that is thought to underlie morally justifiable forms of rule-breaking behavior. To develop and validate the scale, we recruited a sample of workers (N = 291) who completed an online survey comprised of demographic questions, a large pool of newly developed questions assessing constructive rule beliefs, and a set of questions measuring hypothetical rule-breaking behavior. Using an exploratory factor analysis, we found support for a two-dimensional factor structure, with the first factor reflecting rule relativity beliefs (i.e. the belief that rules should guide rather than dictate behavior) and the second reflecting beliefs about the purpose and idealized nature of rules. Construct validity was tested by exploring whether the two factors correlate with hypothetical rule-breaking behavior. We found that only the first dimension (rule relativity beliefs) was strongly associated with rule-breaking. We discuss the importance of constructive rule beliefs in understanding a range of rule-related behaviors