Walter C. Borman - Böcker

The area of work and aging is complex and multi-faceted. Its foundation is formed by a wide array of disciplines that both contribute to the complexity of its understanding, and offer fertile promise for research, development, and application in the years ahead. With an ever-growing population of older workers, many of whom are suggesting they will likely continue to work past traditional retirement age, it becomes all the more important that we increase our efforts to develop a more thorough understanding of older workers, the nature of their interactions with work and the organizations for which they work, and the process of transitioning to retirement. Clearly, there are huge societal and global challenges that will both inform and influence research and application at the individual and organizational levels.The Oxford Handbook of Work and Aging examines the aging workforce from an individual worker, organization, and societal perspective, and offers both an integration of current cross-disciplinary knowledge, and a roadmap for where research and application should be focused in the future to address issues of an aging workforce. The volume is divided into six core sections: demography, theoretical and methodological issues, the older worker, organizational strategies for an older workforce, individual and organizational perspectives on work and retirement, and societal perspectives with an aging workforce. Bringing together seasoned authors from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, new approaches to recruiting, workplace flexibility, and the right mix of benefits and incentives are presented as a way of engaging an older workforce.

The three primary papers in this special issue explore personality measurement in both directions, that is, more narrow and specific and more broad and heterogeneous. The first paper reviews research on conditional reasoning, with a focus on the construct of aggression. Next, tolerance for contradiction is explored, which is defined as a mode of thinking that accepts and even thrives on apparent contradictory information. The last primary paper covers core self evaluation, which combines measures of four traits: locus of control, self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, and emotional stability. The special issue concludes with provocative and insightful critique and commentary of the three primary papers. It notes some important points of criticism, but is primarily positive and laudatory of these research programs.

These articles describe ideas about contextual performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and similar patterns of behavior that have been developed by scholars working from very different research traditions. It seems that the different research traditions are converging on the same notion--that besides formal job requirements, other patterns of behavior are also critical for organizational effectiveness and survival. These other patterns of behavior have been relatively ignored until recently, but now scholars are trying to define them, determine exactly why and how they are important for organizations, and identify their antecedents. The results of these research efforts-- described by articles in this issue--will help to make it possible to develop new conceptual and practical tools for managing these important behaviors and in that way promote human performance and organizational effectiveness.

These articles describe ideas about contextual performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and similar patterns of behavior that have been developed by scholars working from very different research traditions. It seems that the different research traditions are converging on the same notion--that besides formal job requirements, other patterns of behavior are also critical for organizational effectiveness and survival. These other patterns of behavior have been relatively ignored until recently, but now scholars are trying to define them, determine exactly why and how they are important for organizations, and identify their antecedents. The results of these research efforts-- described by articles in this issue--will help to make it possible to develop new conceptual and practical tools for managing these important behaviors and in that way promote human performance and organizational effectiveness.

The three primary papers in this special issue explore personality measurement in both directions, that is, more narrow and specific and more broad and heterogeneous. The first paper reviews research on conditional reasoning, with a focus on the construct of aggression. Next, tolerance for contradiction is explored, which is defined as a mode of thinking that accepts and even thrives on apparent contradictory information. The last primary paper covers core self evaluation, which combines measures of four traits: locus of control, self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, and emotional stability. The special issue concludes with provocative and insightful critique and commentary of the three primary papers. It notes some important points of criticism, but is primarily positive and laudatory of these research programs.