HD2 8
Dewey
.M414
^5
ALFRED
ThG
P.
WORKING PAPER
SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
iTT.plicit
Age Grading:
Organizational TineraMe
BARBARA
March 1983
S.
LAWRENCE
V?P
#1414-83
MASSACHUSETTS
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
50 MEMORIAL DRIVE
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02139
Age Grading:
The Implicit Organizational TinetLable
BARBARA
March 1983
S.
LAWRENCE
#1414-83
VfP
I
gratefully acknovjledge the assistance of all those individuals in the
I
Bennix Power Company v.'hose cooperation made this study possible.
would also like to thank Toir, Allen, Richard Bagozzi Lotte Bailyn, and
Edgar Schein of the Sloan School of Kanagement MIT, for their helpful
comments.
,
,
A revised version of this paper to appear in The Journal of Occupational
Behaviour
(forthcoming)
1983
This research was supported by grants
from the Administration on Aging *30 ATO
33/11 and the Office of Naval
,
.
Research, Contract N00014-80-C09C5; NR 170-911.
j
My
MAY
3 1 1983
^
ABSTRACT
The
age
timetable,
timetable
distribution within an organization forms an implicit career
and there is evidence that people use their perceptions of this
to
Questionnaire
determine
data
electric utility.
"behind
time"
whether
were
their
collected
from
careers
are
on or off schedule.
managers (N=488) within a large
The results indicate that managers who see themselves as
their careers have more negative attitudes towards work
in
than other managers, even when their perceptions of being "behind time" are
inaccurate.
more
In
addition, the longer managers remain in the same job, the
likely they are to define themselves as "behind time."
This supports
other research suggesting that lateral moves v;ithin organizations may be an
important
device for managing the normal limitations of upward movement in
managerial careers.
07459c
-1-
Organizations
performance.
from
work
have
often
elaborate
they see everyday on the job.
v/hac
They observe others who are
labelled as successful or unsuccessfu?. and ask, "How am
them?"
and
timetable,
career
doing compared to
The ages of employees in different positions form an
most critical is age.
implicit
I
of comparison involves many factors, but one of the
process
This
appraising
get the most vivid assessments of their
employees
Hov;ever,
for
rr.echanisms
there
is evidence that people use their
of this timetable to determine whether their careers are on or
perceptions
off schedule.
a
study
of managers between the ages of 35 and 39 in two British
companies,
Sofer
(1970:273-274)
In
found an acute sensitivity to the career
clearly aware of where they should be in their
timetable.
Managers
careers
given ages and showed considerable concern if they were behind
at
were
sensitivity
also
evident
Kidder's
schedu].e.
This
description
of
Immediately
after beginning work, these engineers noticed that the careers
of
people
in
(1982:104)
computer engineers in the Data General Corporation.
young
"like
is
mysteriously
ended
me"
at
thirty, suggesting an
age
uncertain future in the organization.
These
expectations
that
show
with
fits
in
to
being well aware of age
employees
are concerned about how
addition
organizations,
their
in
progress
their
this
examples
the implicit career timetable.
The purpose of
study is to examine how perceptions of being on and off schedule with
the career timetable affect employee's attitudes towards work.
To
provide
context
the
for
this
study,
importance of age in social groups are in order.
of
chronological
experiences.
As
aging
makes
a
result,
it
a
few
comments
on the
The unalterable cliaracter
one of the most widely shared of human
strong
expectations
develop
about
age
appropriate
behavior.
allowed
make
assumed
are
be wise and children are
to
People are admonished to "act your age" when
mistakes.
behave in an unexpected manner for someone of their age.
they
an
to
Adults
individual
experience,
social
and
and,
as
a
result,
Age is both
it exerts a
tremendous influence on people's lives.
evidence
Empirical
expectations
underlie
supports
behavior
an
al.
,
that
age
assumptions and
social groups (Eisenstadt, 1955;
1972).
There is consensus that
behaviors that are acceptable at specific ages, and
are
there
all
in
Neugarten & Datan, 1973; Riley et
belief
the
order
which
in
lifetime.
behaviors
these
assumptions
Age
2)
1)
there is
are expected to occur in a person's
and expectations form the clock agaiiist which
people measure their lives.
Are they on-time or off-time with
v.'hat
is seen
as normal progress in life?
Previous
people's lives.
notion
as
suggests
work
that being off-time has a negative impact on
Bernice Neugarten et
al.
(1958), who first described the
being on-time or off-time, found that people who see themselves
of
off-time are more likely to experience crises in their lives than those
who
are
and
middle-aged
on-time.
schedule
had
a
This finding has found support in studies of young men
men
and
women.
Hogan (1978, 1980) found that being off
negative
effect
on the lives of young men.
He observed
demographic patterns of age-specific life events, such as finishing school,
beginning
from
to
work,
and
getting
married.
The results suggest that deviance
normal progress, as defined by those demographic patterns, is related
higher
rates
exploratory
(1980)
found
of
marital
disruption and lower total earnings.
In an
study of men and women making midlife career changes, L£v;rence
that
subjects
who
were on schedule with major family life
-3-
events,
such
and the birth of children, were less likely to
marriage
as
experience career change as a crisis than those who were off schedule.
studies
these
Although
negative impact on people, there are
Because
unlikely
distinctly different ways of being
ahead of schedule is generally perceived in a more positive
being
than being behind schedule,
light
tv;o
People can be either ahead of schedule or behind schedule.
schedule.
off
that being off schedule dees have a
suggest
to have
chese two ways of being off schedule are
Thus, the definition of being
same impact on people.
tlie
or off schedule with age expectations of normal progress should include
on
instead
three,
two,
of
categories:
ahead of schedule, on schedule, and
behind schedule.
expectations
form
organizations,
work
In
that
implicit
an
The
focus
and
the
age-nefined
timetables
develop around career movement.
are apparent in the
These age expectations
but powerful environnient to v;hich members
m.ust
respond.
in this study is on the age expectations of managerial careers,
term
career refers to the set of hierarchical positions managers
might expect to traverse during their tenure with a given organization.
The perception of age expectations that define normal progress through
a
observe
must
their
of
within
career
distribution of the different career levels within
age
the
First, managers
organization, and second, they must make a judgment as to what range
ages
normal
represents
Their
perception
based
on
the
timetable
it
will
progress,
fast
progress, and slow progress.
of their own position on the organizational timetable is
results of these judgments.
carries
Typically,
normal
an organization requires two judgments.
with
it
inherent
Position on the organizational
positive and negative associations.
is assumed that managers who see themselves as younger than
define
themselves
as
-4-
"fast-track,"
or
"water
walkers."
who
see
marooned
on
Conversely,
managers
themselves
as
and
"mobile"
study
this
the
with
associated
example,
for
(1977:133-136),
'"stuck.."
themselves
calls
these
the
older
track
"slow
a
Given
as
two
positive
than
to
ncrn^.al
nowhere."
groups
of
may see
Ranter
managers the
and negative attitudes
ahead of or behind time, the central hypothesis of
being
is that managers who see themselves as ahead of time have more
attitudes towards work than managers who see themselves as either
positive
on time or behind time
.
The Problem and the Method
The Instrument
A
questionnaire was designed to assess managers' age judgments of the
career
timetable within their organization and to examine the relationship
between
in
The questionnaire was developed
their beliefs and work attitudes.
several stages through pre-testing with MBA students (22-30 years old)
middle
managers
Fellows
Sloan
the
in
Program
(35-45
years old)
,
,
and
executives
in the Senior Executives Program (45-60 years old) at the Sloan
School
Management,
of
MIT.
An additional pre-test was conducted with a
small group of managers within the company eventually studied.
In order to obtain managers'
v;ere
their
the
asked
to
judgment
give,
for
perceptions of the career timetable, they
each hierarchical level in their organization,
of 1) the typical age of individuals in that level, and 2)
age range of individuals in that level.
responses
suggest
that
In the follov;ing example,
the
Supervisors are between the ages of 25 and 68 and
typically 36 years old.
-5-
:
THE r>PICAl AGE AND ACE aANCK C? KA'.AUiSS
Give.
1.
ny fcrcepHon Is
In
1:1::::
I-}-^.
l-i—^-t—^l-fi
;
i
i
:
ZKCW lEO
lilf
..-
i
-t-t-i-t-i-i.
.
•-
to
•
I
,
•
•
•
T
•
.
•
•
:
;
1
:
-*-
t
t
I
:
70
60
perceptions of how far off scnedule they
are in their organizational careers, managers'
judgments of the typical age
own career level were subtracted from their
their
T
•
iO
In order to measure managers'
for
TOSIT.'OI.'S.
Superv is or.' =r€
V'.h'.
^'
30
?0
HXDIKC
ov.t.
age.
Thus, the
individual age discrepancy of a 40 year old, first level manager who judged
the
for his or her level to te 52, would be eight.
age
typical
this
measure
with
their
Although
identifies the extent to v;hich managers' ages are discrepant
perceptions of what is typical for their career level, it does
not identify directly whether managers perceive themselves as ahead, on, or
behind
However, the data show that people in the organization that
time.
was studied believe the average time in every career level is three to four
years.
two
Thus,
years
of
seems reasonable to expect that managers who are within
it
what
themselves
identify
believe
they
as
typical for their own career level
is
time, and that managers who are seven or more
on
years younger than what they believe is typical, roughly two career levels,
themselves
identify
as
ahead
of
In view of recent evidence that
time.
people
continue to hope that things will get better even after the average
length
of
progress)
three
,
time
as
levels
— seems
behind
time.
therefore into three groups:
between
-2
individual
advances
career
passed (Bailyn, 1982, work in
has
somewhat larger age discrepancy of ten years or more
a
career
themselves
for
and
age
+2
were
reasonable
The
1)
to
population
managers
identify
of
managers
was
— almost
who
see
divided
managers with an individual age discrepancy
classified
as
on
time;
2)
managers with an
discrepancy less than -7 were classified as ahead of time;
-6-
and
managers with an individual age discrepancy of greater than +10 were
3)
Managers in the two inbetween categories (-3 to
classified as behind time.
-6,
to +9) were eliminated from the analysis.
+3
Given the shared belief
that
age differences between career levels are around three to four years,
the
psychological
meaning
discrepancies
age
of
in
these
inbetween
categories is more tenuous.
data
The
suggest
managers
who
time
their
in
there
of
managers
are
on
careers.
direct
no
is
or
categories
three
identify
off
However, two cautions should be
measure to confirm managers' actual
time; therefore, it is possible that some
accurately classified.
not
accurately
as either on time, ahead of time, or behind
organizational
being
feelings
the
themselves
see
First,
noted.
that
Second, the boundaries defining
the on and off time categories are based on data from the organization that
was studied and are not necessarily generalizable to other organizations.
questionnaire
The
questions
based
are
Oldham,
1980)
Schein,
1980),
questions
success
motivation
anchored
final
(#7-#9)
five-point
Two
the Job Diagostic Survey (Kackman &
from
come from the MIT Alumni Survey (Bailyn &
new
to
this
questionnaire.
Two of the
#6)
.
questions inquire about subjects' feelings of
These questions use six-point scales, with responses
of
how strongly subjects agree or disagree.
The
questions elicit information about subjects' work orientation
as
organization
on v;ork attitudes.
their work and two questions examine subjects' work
in
#4)
statements
to
are
Two
#2).
(#5,
tliree
,
three
questions
nine
respondents about their satisfaction with current career or
(#1,
(#3,
items
questions
and
ask
occupation
on
four
,
includes
measured
for
scales,
by
their
stated
probability
changes in various aspects of work.
with
of
leaving
the
These questions use
responses anchored to statements of how likely a
-1-
inducement
given
are
years.
five
v/ithin
sufficiently
organization
HigJi
scores on these questions suggest that managers
oriented
work,
to
order
in
to influence the subject to leave the company
be
v.'ould
meet
would
they
that
their
needs
leaving the
consider
for
work
particular
a
environment.
The Sample
United
northeastern
States.
after
company
the
with
organization (r=.84)
utility
electric
this
in
the
The Bennix Power Company (not its real name)
Traditionally, people come to work in
.
This is
The average age of exempt employees is 45
and the average tenure is 20 years (range=C-45)
(range=22-65)
in
large
high correlation between age and number of years tenure
in
the
a
finishing school and remain until retirement.
reflected
careers
in
established organization.
is an old,
the
conducted
was
study
The
company
have
Level
eight
levels:
Level
1
.
Managerial
is a first level
includes the Chief Executive Officer &
supervisory
position
President.
The time-honored route in management is to "move up the ranks"
requiring
positions
from
and
8
engineering
backgrounds,
a slow process in an
organization such as this.
questionnaire
The
employees.
was distributed through company mail to all exempt
A stamped envelope was enclosed with each questionnaire, to be
returned to HIT through US mail.
Company
concerns
prohibited
One follow-up mem.orandum was distributed.
extensive follow-up procedures.
Forty-seven
percent (N=488) of all exempt employees returned the questionnaire.
demographic
years
Actual
data were obtained on the age, sex, functional area, number of
tenure with the company, and hierarchical level of all employees.
comparison
of
these
values
v;ith
A
values obtained from respondents to the
-8-
questionnaire shov;s that the sample han demographic characteristics similar
to those of the population.
Findings
division
The
Thirty-three
ahead
39%
and
percent
(N=82)
perceive
(N=95)
subsample
a
groups based on
245
of
managers.
these managers perceive themselves to he
of
themselves
orientation,
differences
attitudes
produced
three
to be behind schedule.
All the managers
organization show relatively high levels of work satisfaction
this
work
into
sample
28% (N=5S) perceive themselves to be on schedule, and
schedule,
of
within
discrepancies
age
individual
original
the
of
thus
between the groups.
are
findings
the
are
This means that groups with more negative
necessarily dissatisfied.
not
based on a comparison of
It only means that they are
less satisfied than other groups.
This
work
analysis
examines the global pattern of responses to aspects of
satisfaction
and work orientation.
The items presented here are not
meant to represent all possible components of these attitudes towards work.
For
question,
each
managers
The
responded
who
Kruskal-Wallis
ranking
the
of
T
If
differences
between
Table
the
nine
1
"percent
in
who
agree" represents the fraction of
the two highest categories for that question.
reported
each
for
table tests whether or not the
responses of the three groups is the same across all nine
questions.
1980:229-239)
the
differences
pairs
for
of
the
groups
three
are
groups
also
are
significant,
examined
(Conover,
.
shows
questions.
groups (p<.00l).
the percentage of each group that agreed with each of
This table shov;s clear differences between the three
In all cases except for one,
-9-
people who see themselves as
TA3LL 1
Work Attitudes By Individual Age Discrepancy
PERCENT WHO AGREE
Ahead of Time On Time Behind Time
N=95
N=68
N=82
Work Satisfaction:
1) Generally speaking, I am very
satisfied with my current:
career choice.
2) I wish I v.'ere in a comple-cely
different occupation.^
3) Generally speaking, I am very
satisfied with my career progress.
4) I am considered a successful
person in this company.
5) I like to think about my work
even when off the job.
6) My only interest in my job is to
get the money to do the other
things I want to do.*
78
79
69
58
ahead
time are more satisfied vjitn and mere oriented towards work than
of
who
those
either
themselves
see
as behind time
themselves
as
on
time (p<.001) or those
In addition,
(p<.001).
support
that managers
hypothesis
the
see
managers who are on time
have more positive attitudes than those who are behind time.
clearly
vjho
v;ho
These results
perceive themselves as
of time have more positive attitudes towards work than those who see
ahead
themselves as either on time or behind time.
However,
related
to
perceive
him
herself
or
organization
this
in
that,
shcv;s
a person's perception of age discrepancy is
It is difficult for a 55 year old manager
his or her own age.
to
possible
definition,
by
Table
to be ahead of time at that age.
2
there is a strong relationship between the ages of
fact,
in
ahead of time, simply because it is not
as
managers
and
their
managers
get
older, they are more likely to perceive themselves as behind
individual
discrepancy
age
{1>
= .1BB,
p<.00l).
As
time.
The literature suggests that job satisfaction is positively related to
age
and
number
the
(Andrisani et
For
this
managers
reason,
is
groups.
age-related
varies
relationship
the
themselves
surprising
This
has
worked in an organization
because
to
observed in Table
1,
ahead
time
be
of
suggesting that
are
the most
these managers are the youngest of the
unexpected relationship may be explained by a second
observation
about
work, which is that the centrality of work
the life span (Evans & Bartolome, 1981; Schein, 1978).
over
managers
who
involved
with
oriented.
person
a
1977; Janson & Kartin, 1981; Van Maaiien & Katz, 1976).
,
perceive
v.'ho
satisfied,
three
al.
years
of
As
are
just
beginning
careers
and
Young
families tend to be more
their work than older managers who often become more family
children
grow older and the major career goals have either
-11-
TABLE 2
Age By Perceptions of Being On or Off Time
Ahead of
Age
<
35
35-50
>
Tin-.e
Behind Time
(N)
%
(N)
%
(N)
53
(36)
11
(9)
5
(5)
47
(32)
57
(47)
28
(26)
(0)
32
(26)
67
(64)
100 (82)
100
(95)
100 (68)
X^ = 108.9
t
=
df = 4
p < .001
P
<
achieved
changes
On
%
50
Total:
been
Tinie
not achieved, the pattern of work-family accommodations
or
(Bailyn,
.788
-001
1978).
In order to see vjhether the centrality of work is
a possible explanation for the observed relationship between perceived time
categories
work
and
a single age group, managers between the
attitudes,
ages of 35 and 50, was examined.
Excluding
the
average
actual
Thus,
the
their
being
ages
the
career
for
all
career levels fall between 47 and 54.
on or off time is probably most critical for managers between
with
people
organizational lives.
major
ages
of 35 and 50 who are facing knov.'ledge of the probable outcome of
constraints,
make
Chief Executive Officer and President in this company,
Job
the
at
company.
In addition to perceived organizational
this age also face age expectations outside their
The expectation is that if people wait any longer to
changes,
they will be perceived as "too old" and will be
-12-
Even if they have no intention
unable to find other work (Lawrence, 1980).
of
leaving, 35 to 50 year-old managers in this company must face
actually
realisation
the
the issue of "How
reasons,
to
between
the
three
are
For these
limited.
am doing in my career" is likely tc be highly
minimizing the expected differences
thus
It is possible that dissatisfied employees in
groups.
have already adapted to staying.
remain
probably
category have already left the company, in which case, those who
age
this
I
individuals,
these
salient
options
future
that
Hov;ever, the low turnover in this
organization suggests that this would have little effect on this sample.
Table
and
35
shows the work attitude scores of managers between the ages of
3
the
(p<.Ol),
the three groups are still significantly different
Although
50.
Those who see themselves as on
differences have diminished.
time are now similar to those who see themselves as ahead of time (p=n.s.).
On four of the nine questions, on time managers are more satisfied v;ith and
oriented towards work than ahead of time managers.
more
to
note,
that,
themselves
ahead
as
progress, and
career
by
even
others
and
more
negative
Thus,
centrality
groups,
of
people
2)
are still
1)
about
more satisfied
vjith
v?ho
see
their own
more likely to feel they are considered successful
However, despite the fact that on
of time groups are similar,
ahead
p<.Ol).
time
of
two groups are similar, people
the
those who are on time.
than
tim.e
though
It is interesting
the behind time group remains
work then either group on all nine questions (p<.01;
it
appears
work
using
although
that
age
controlling
for the probable
reduces the differences between the three
who see themselves as behind time are still less satisfied
with and less oriented towards their work.
One
managers
possible
are
explanation
for
these
results
is
that
behind time
really behind schedule and thus have a legitimate reason for
-13-
v;orl'v
TABLE 3
Attitudes By Individual Age Discrepancy
Subsample: Ages 35-50
PERCENT WHO AGREE
Ahead of Time On Tins Behind Time
N=26
N=47
N=32
Work Satisfaction;
1) Generally speaking, I am very
satisfied v;ith my current
career choice.
2) I wish I were in a completely
different occupation.*
3) Generally speaking, I am very
satisfied with my career progress.
4) I am considered a successful
person in this company.
5) I like to think about my work
even when off the job.
6) My only interest in my job is to
get the money to do the other
things I want to do.*
69
84
70
35
:
their
the
actual age distribution for each career level.
deviation
standard
within
actually
considered
older
deviation
Thus,
being
one's
own
mobility
younger
managers
schedule,
the
The actual career schedule of maraoers was measured using
feelings.
level.
with
actual
schedule
It
company
career
is
does
and
means
not
schedule,
47
deviation
managers
considered
are
the
of
more
average are
than one standard
actually behind schedule.
being older than the average age for
mean being behind the normal pattern of
(e.g. Rosenbaum,
age
actually behind schedule.
the
standard
one
average
than
behind
than average are considered actually ahead of
schedule,
on
Managers more than one
1979a, 1979b).
Using this measure of
none of these 35 to 50 year-old managers is
The youngest average age for any career level in
with a standard deviation of
6,
meaning that managers
must
be over 53 before they are really behind schedule.
many
of the managers in each perceived time category are actually ahead of
Table 4 shov;s how
schedule, actually on schedule, or actually behind schedule.
TABLE 4
Actual Schedule by Perceived Schedule
Subsample: Ages 35 - 50
ACTUAL SCHEDULE
PERCEIVED SCHEDULE
Ahead of Time
On Time
Behind Time
%
(N)
%
(N)
%
(N)
Ahead of Schedule
50 (16)
21
(10)
4
(1)
On Schedule
50 (15)
79
(37)
96 (25)
(0)
(0)
(47)
100 (25)
Behind Schedule
Total
(0)
100 (32)
-15-
100
The lack of accuracy of perceptions in t^e group that perceives itself
as
time
behind
groups.
is
particularly
when
marked
compared to the other two
of those who see themselves as ahead of time and 79 percent
lialf
of those who see themselves as on time are accurate in their perceptions.
The
clearly
managers
judgments
of
are
based
not
see
actual
the
on
their
However,
organization.
who
as behind schedule
themselves
age
distribution
within
the
negative feelings of work satisfaction and
work orientation may be the indirect result of these age distributions.
In
other words, work attitudes may be explained by where managers actually are
in
careers rather than where they think they are.
their
group has more negative attitudes because almost all of this group is
time
actually
and all m.anagers who are actually on schedule have
schedule,
on
negative attitudes regardless of their perceptions.
more
all
Thus, the behind
35-50
m.anagers
who
actually
are
on
schedule
Table
compared
5
includes
by
their
perceptions of being on or off time.
three
In
ahead
time {p=n.s.), and for the first time, the behind time group has
of
though
scores
the
actually
being
the
groups,
who
work
perceptions
attitudes,
than
attitudes
positive
more
and
the nine questions, those who see themselves as on time
more positive attitudes towards work than those who see themselves as
have
those
of
on
on
time group on two questions, even
nearly identical.
are
schedule
behind
the
the differences between these three
reduces
group
time
is still consistently more negative than
see themselves as ahead of time.
orientatj.on
thus
effect
appear
to
Feelings of work satisfaction
be related to the joint effect of
Although perceptions do appear to influence work
and reality.
the
However, despite the fact that
of
these perceptions seems to be mitigated by the
manager's actual position on the organizational career timetable.
-16-
TABLE 5
Work Attitudes By Individual Ags Discrepancy
Subsample: Ages 35-50 and Actually On Schedule
PERCENT WHO AGREE
Ahead of Time On Time Behind Time
N=25
N=16
N=37
Work Satisfaction:
1) Generally speaking, I am very
satisfied v;ith my current
career choice.
2) I wish I were in a completely
different occupation.*
3) Generally speaking, I am very
satisfied with my career progress,
4) I am considered a successful
person in this company.
5) I like to think about my work
even v;hen off the job.
6) My only interest in my job is to
get the money to do the other
things I want to do.*
69
81
70
32
The findings discussed to this point suggest that managers
off-time
are
they
aspects
their
of
This
v.'ork.
believe
timetable are more negative towards
career
the
is intriguing because, without exception,
perceptions are inaccurate.
managers'
these
with
v;ho
A remaining question then is
how people make the age judgments that result in these negative feelings.
who see themselves as behind schedule may have had different
Managers
paths than those who see themselves as either ahead or on time.
career
by Bailyn
described
plateaued
been
(1979)
years
for
,
As
35-50 year old middle managers may either have
current position after rapid career
their
in
their careers, or they may have achieved their current
movement
early
position
only recently after slov; movement throughout their organizational
in
Managers
tenure.
with
others
they
see
Martin,
v;ho
similar ages and feel behind schedule and "deprived" when
of
in their comparison group begin new jobs
managers
1981)
have not changed jobs recently may compare themselves
feelings
These
.
(Adams, 1965;
of deprivation could then result in more
negative work attitudes.
data
The
paths
of
years
subjects
recent
these
behind
be examined.
cannot
However, the number of
been in their current jobs provides an indication of
movement.
as
on
time
time category.
needs
individuals
Table
6
shows
that,
in fact, people who see
schedule are much more likely to have been in their
jobs longer than four years than those who see themselves as ahead
current
or
study are cross-sectional, thus the entire career
this
have
career
themselves
of
in
to
be
— even
when those groups are controlled for age and actual
Although these findings are suggestive, additional research
conducted to understand the process by which people make and
then interpret age judgments of managerial careers.
-18-
TABLE 6
Number of Years in Current Job
Subsample: Ages 35-50 and Actually on Schedule
PERCEIVED SCHEDULE
NUMBER OF YEARS
IN CURRENT JOB
Ahead & On Time
%
(N)
Behind Time
%
(N)
0-4
Years
61
(30)
22
(5)
5 +
Years
39
(19)
78
(18)
100
(49)
100
(23)
Total;
Summary and Discussion
These
themselves
data
are
ahead
as
towards their
support
v.'ork
of
original
the
hypothesis
that managers
v;ho
see
are more satisfied with and more oriented
time,
than other managers.
In general, managers v;ho feel they
ahead of time have more positive work attitudes than managers who feel
they are on time, and mianagers who feel they are on time have more positive
work
attitudes
than
those
who
feel they are behind time.
However, the
relationship betv;een individual age discrepancies and work satisfaction and
work
orientation
behind
time
time
not linear.
The
Although managers who see themselves as
always the most negative group, the ahead of time and on
groups have similar attitudes
schedule.
may
are
is
comparatively
v;hen
controlled for age and actual time
negative attitudes of the behind time group
be explained by the joint effect of perceptions and actual position on
the organizational timetable.
-19-
judgments of whether they are on or off time frequently are
Managers'
of
the
judgments nay be related to the recent career movement
These
inaccurate.
manager.
are more likely to see themselves as ahead of
Managers
on time if they have started new jobs within the last four years.
time
or
This
suggests
that relative deprivation is a possible explanation for the
age judgments and comparative dissatisfaction of the behind time group.
are two major implications of this study.
There
suggest
researchers
are
demography,
age
distributions,
single
the
critical
also
factor
referred
to
explaining
in
as age
some
outcomes (Pfeffer, 1982), these distributions alone clearly
organizational
not sufficient for understanding the relationship between age and work
are
Both individual perceptions and demographic information on age
attitudes.
be considered.
must
as
that
First, although some
Second, if it is true that managers define themselves
behind schedule as a result of infrequent job moves
can
alleviate
some
in
itself
rather
determining age judgments.
et
This
al.
,
has
1980)
then organizations
of the comparatively negative feelings experienced by
this group by providing alternative job opportunities.
movement
,
movement is what is critical in
upward
than
It is possible that
Lateral moves (Hall, 1976; Schein, 1978; Stoner
may be just as effective an intervention as vertical moves.
significant
implications
in
a
time
v;hen an
aging work force
decreases the opportunity for upward mobility within organizations.
-20-
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