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Analyzing data gathered by WFD (Work/Family Directions) from employees at more than 30 workplaces, this study investigated how flexibility affects older workers’ engagement compared to that of younger workers. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the analyses put the employees’ responses in the context of the work environments at their organizations.
key research questions
- How does access to workplace flexibility affect older workers’ engagement?
- Do changes in the extent of flexible work options available at the workplace affect older workers’ engagement?
selected findings
- Compared to the referent group (workers age 34-44), workers age 55 and older were significantly more engaged.
- Employees who have access to the flexibility they need at work scored higher (2.40 points higher) than those who did not. The addition of flexibility fit increases the proportion of variance in engagement 6.2%.
- Age moderates the relationship between flexibility and engagement, such that older workers who have the flexibility they need are more engaged than younger workers who have the flexibility they need.
publications
- Pitt-Catsouphes, M. & Matz-Costa, C. (2008). The multi-generational workforce: Workplace flexibility and engagement. Community, Work & Family, 11(2), 215-229.
- Hill, E.J., Grzywacz, J.G., Allen, S., Blanchard, V.L., Matz-Costa, C., Shulkin, S., & Pitt-Catsouphes, M. (2008). Defining and conceptualizing workplace flexibility. Community, Work, & Family, 11(2), 149-163.
contact
For questions of information regarding the Flexibility and the Engagement of Older Workers Project please contact:
Chad Minnich, Assistant Director, Marketing/Communications
minnicch@bc.edu | +1 . 617 . 552 . 3122
flexibility and the engagement of older workers team
To schedule a conversation with any of our staff about the Flexibility and the Engagement of Older Workers Study, please contact Chad Minnich, Assistant Director, Marketing & Communications, at 617-552-3122, or minnicch@bc.edu.
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Christina Matz-Costa, MA
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Research Associate Christina Matz-Costa is a research associate at the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College, where she is in charge of data management and analysis for the Age & Generations Study and the National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development. Christina is also a doctoral candidate in the Graduate School of Social Work at Boston College. Her research interests include employee engagement, productive aging, work-family issues, employer response to the aging of the workforce, quantitative data analysis and multi-level modeling. |
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Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, PhD
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Director Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes directs the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. She is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Social Work, and has appointments at the Boston College Carroll School of Management and the Business School at Middlesex University in London. She was the Co-Principal Investigator for the 2006 National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development and the 2007-2008 Age & Generations Study. Her current work includes oversight of the 2009 Talent Management Study. She will be leading the 2010 Generations of Talent study with colleagues from around the world. She was invited to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging as an issue expert, and recently co-edited a special issue of Generations (2007) that focused on aging and work. Dr. Pitt-Catsouphes was a recipient of the 2007 Work-Life Legacy Award. She serves on several boards and advisory committees, including the National Advisory Committee for Workplace 2010 at Georgetown University, the Strategy Board for the Association of Work/Life Professionals at the World of Work, and the Purdue Center for Families. Dr. Pitt-Catsouphes’ articles have been published in a number of scholarly and practitioner journals. She was a founding co-editor for the international journal, Community, Work and Family. Her publications include The Work-Family Handbook: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives and Approaches to Research, published by Erlbaum Publishers (2006) which she edited with colleagues. She received her BA from Tufts University, MSP from Boston College, and PhD from Boston University. |
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