Focus on opportunities as a mediator of the relationships between age, job complexity, and work performance

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Hannes Zacher
  • Sandra Heusner
  • Michael Schmitz
  • Monika M. Zwierzanska
  • Michael Frese

Focus on opportunities is a cognitive-motivational facet of occupational future time perspective that describes how many new goals, options, and possibilities individuals expect to have in their personal work-related futures. This study examined focus on opportunities as a mediator of the relationships between age and work performance and between job complexity and work performance. In addition, it was expected that job complexity buffers the negative relationship between age and focus on opportunities and weakens the negative indirect effect of age on work performance. Results of mediation, moderation, and moderated mediation analyses with data collected from 168 employees in 41 organizations (mean age = 40.22 years, SD = 10.43, range = 19-64 years) as well as 168 peers providing work performance ratings supported the assumptions. The findings suggest that future studies on the role of age for work design and performance should take employees' focus on opportunities into account.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Vocational Behavior
Volume76
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)374-386
Number of pages13
ISSN0001-8791
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.06.2010

    Research areas

  • Business psychology - Age, Focus on opportunities, Job complexity, Moderated mediation, Work performance