This is the editorial for the first part of the special issue 'Age at work'. Four articles are featured in this first part. The first two articles address the differences in work performance across age groups, the myths surrounding this, and the facts. The third article in this issue focuses on the actual differences in mental health within one age group: younger workers. The first two articles of this special issue also discuss how to combat prejudices and stereotypes about olderworkers. The fourth article focuses on the causes of sustainable employability and interventions to enhance sustainable employability. Older workers who are sustainably employable demonstrate that the prejudices against older workers are unfounded. Together, the articles in this special issue show that the aging workforce compels us to reconsider our perspectives on age, employability, and careers.

Executive and supervisory directors at the top of companies and organizations regularly have to make decisions in which they have to weigh conflicting moral norms and the interests of various stakeholders. These considerations and decisions are often criticized, even called immoral or unethical. This study investigates the relationship between moral identity and gender of supervisory directors and their moral judgment. In moral judgment we distinguish (1) utilitarian considerations, in which different interests are weighed, in a rational process, and (2) deontological considerations, in which consistency with moral norms is decisive, in a more emotional process. In our research among 145 Dutch supervisory directors, moral identity was measured. With nine moral dilemmas and the process dissociation procedure, separate scores were calculated for utilitarian and deontological considerations. The private part of moral identity (internalization) and the gender of the commissioners proved to be predictive for deontological considerations, but not for utilitarian considerations. Male and female supervisory directors therefore mainly differed in the fast, more intuitive process of deontological moral judgment.

Studies on bystander behaviour showed that bystanders regularly intervene in conflicts and crime in public in order to de-escalate, yet these studies focus solely on the way citizens manage situations in the absence of police. Bystanders, however, are also present while police officers carry out their work and might help or challenge their performance. Based on 15 interviews with police officers and participant observation during 12 police shifts in the Netherlands, this study provides insights into the way officers perceive bystanders and experience their actions. Police officers describe bystanders as a dilemma they have to face during encounters: they want to convey a positive and fair image of themselves towards bystanders, yet also want to control the situation and show their authority. The diversity of bystander actions and the dilemma's officers face imply that more attention should be given to bystanders of police action in both research and training.

Introduction Digital innovations make it possible to work anywhere and anytime using any kind of device. Given these evolutions, availability norms are emerging at work. These norms specifically refer to the experienced beliefs or expectations from colleagues or superiors to be available for work-related communication after regular work hours. We rely on the Job-Demands Resources Model as we aim to investigate the relationship between these availability norms and burnout symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. We first of all study to what extent availability norms are associated with heightened burnout symptoms. Secondly, we study how both a personal demand, namely telepressure, and a job resource, namely autonomy, could offer distinct and relevant explanations for the role these availability norms play in experiencing burnout symptoms. Method We collected data through a survey study with 229 employees from various organizations in the second half of 2020. Results The findings indicated that indeed availability norms are significantly associated with more burnout symptoms and that both heightened telepressure and reduced autonomy mediated this relationship. Discussion This study contributes to theory and practice as we offer insight into how availability norms at work could be detrimental for the occupational health of employees, which can be taken into account when setting up rules and regulations at work.

The continuation of work that undermines employee well-being necessitates an investigation into the antecedents of work design. Therefore, we examined how autonomy supportive and controlling leadership—as defined in self-determination theory (SDT)—relate to employees’ job resources, job demands, and well-being. Using a cross-sectional ( N = 501) and a daily diary study ( N = 123), we found that autonomy supportive leadership relates to employees’ work engagement via job resources both at the between- and within-person levels. However, only the cross-sectional study evidenced a relationship between autonomy supportive leadership and exhaustion via job resources. Controlling leadership related to exhaustion via job demands at the between-person level in both studies but not at the within-person level. Alongside implications for the literature on SDT, work design theory, the leadership literature, and workplace re-enchantment, we advance concomitant insights to practitioners. JEL CLASSIFICATION: I31, J81, M12

De overeenkomst tussen kenmerken van persoon en omgeving – ‘fit’ genoemd – is nodig opdat mensen zich goed voelen op het werk. In onderzoek worden deze kenmerken echter zelden ingevuld met theoretisch onderbouwde concepten. We komen tegemoet aan deze tekortkoming met concepten uit de construal-leveltheorie en zelf-determinatietheorie. In het eerste onderzoek (twee vignetstudies, N = 202) vonden we dat een sterkere fit bereikt wordt wanneer de medewerker die een grote (kleine) sociale en spatiële afstand ervaart ten opzichte van de leidinggevende, met abstracte (concrete) taal wordt aangesproken. In het tweede onderzoek (drie vignetstudies, N = 473) werd gevonden dat fit bij sollicitanten kan gezien worden als de overeenkomst tussen persoonlijke waarden en de waarden specifiek voor de organisatie, maar ook als de overeenkomst tussen persoonlijke waarden en de waarden typisch voor de sector. Organisatie-specifieke fit krijgt meer invloed naarmate sollicitanten een kleinere afstand ervaren ten opzichte van de organisatie; sectortypische fit krijgt dan minder invloed. In het laatste onderzoek (vragenlijststudie, N = 188) bekeken we fit als de overeenkomst tussen intrinsieke (extrinsieke) persoonlijke waarden en intrinsieke (extrinsieke) organisatiewaarden en toonden we aan dat sollicitanten zich vooral laten leiden door fit in extrinsieke waarden. Wetmatigheden uit beide theorieën worden toegepast om nieuwe inzichten in fit te ontdekken.

The match between personal and environmental characteristics - called fit - is needed for people to feel good at work. In research, however, these characteristics are seldom specified in terms of theory-based concepts. In this contribution, we meet this shortcoming using concepts from construal level theory and self-determination theory. In the first research (two vignette studies, N= 202), we found that fit can be achieved when the employee, who experiences a large (small) social or spatial distance from the supervisor, is addressed in an abstract (concrete) way. In the second research (three vignette studies, N= 473), job seekers' fit was found to be either a match between personal values and values specific to the organization, or a match between personal values and values that are typical for the industry. Organization-specific fit becomes more salient as job seekers perceive a smaller distance from the organization, whereas sector-based fit becomes less salient. In the final research (survey, N = 188), we looked into fit as the match between intrinsic (extrinsic) personal values and intrinsic (extrinsic) organizational values and showed that job seekers are mostly guided by a fit in extrinsic values. Processes from both theories are applied to gain insights into fit.

Technological innovations, among which the use of video interviews in personnel selection, are welcomed by organizations for reasons such as reductions in cost and time and the ability to reach a more global labour market. The literature to date suggests that applicants do not share this enthusiasm and feel less attracted towards organizations that use video interviews versus face-to-face interviews. In this study, we extended the literature by studying pre- instead of post-test reactions and testing two explanatory mechanisms, namely expected chances to demonstrate potential and to use nonverbal cues. In a first within-subjects experiment among 38 students, the results of two t-tests showed that participants preferred the face-to-face interview above the video interview and that they expected lower chances to demonstrate potential and to use nonverbal cues in the video interview. In a second between-subjects experiment among 121 potential job seekers, these results were partially replicated. The results of a t-test and a mediation bootstrap analysis with PROCESS showed a significant indirect effect of interview medium on organizational attraction via expected chances to demonstrate potential but not via expected opportunities to use nonverbal communication. This study has important practical implications for organizations in the current context of talent shortages.

Based on the Job Demands-Resources model, this study examined the association of learning opportunities of adolescents at school and work with their mental health, operationalized in terms of life satisfaction and depression. Intrinsic motivation at school and at work were studied as potential mediators. Within a representative sample of adolescents (n = 474), the results supported within domain relationships in the sense that learning opportunities at school and at work were positively related to intrinsic motivation at school and at work, respectively, which in turn were related to higher levels of life satisfaction and lower levels of depression. Cross-domain relationships were not significant, except for a negative relationship between learning opportunities at work and intrinsic motivation at school, suggesting that having a good job can pull students away from school.

Building on the moral licensing literature, this paper examines whether highlighting the successful implementation of an equal opportunities policy in a company leads to covert forms of discrimination in hiring decisions (i.e., expressing a preference for a white candidate over an equally qualified black/Moroccan candidate in an ambiguous context). Furthermore, moral self‐image is indirectly tested as a possible underlying mechanism. Two scenario studies first revealed that covert discrimination is more likely after highlighting a successful implementation of an equal opportunities policy in the company (study 1) and that elevated levels of moral self‐image are related to covert discrimination (study 2). Subsequently, a field study revealed that the presence of successful equal opportunities policies positively related to employees’ moral self‐image (study 3).

Values guide our attitudes and behavior, but to what extent and how do individual values determine our overall well-being? Self-determination theory holds that particular types of values (i.e., intrinsic or extrinsic) matter most, but the person-environment fit perspective argues that any values can be beneficial as long as they align with values prevalent in one's environment. The evidentiary support for these competing claims is inconclusive. We use the World Value Survey to see how these perspectives do in predicting life satisfaction, happiness, and health in youngsters aged 18 to 30 around the world. Our results generally confirm hypotheses derived from self-determination theory, showing that the type of values held by youngsters and the type of values prevailing in their environments account for significant variation in young peoples' life satisfaction, happiness, and health. The pattern of evidence suggests that youngsters benefit from attaching greater importance to intrinsic values related to affiliation and community contribution rather than to extrinsic values that relate to financial success and accumulation of power.

There is an ongoing debate about how supervisors should communicate desired end-states to subordinates, that is, whether they should set concrete goals (according to goal setting theory) or communicate abstract visions (according to transformational leadership theory). In this paper, we draw on construal level theory (CLT) to reconcile both views and develop a model of when supervisors communicating concrete goals versus abstract visions are seen as more effective. According to CLT, being psychologically removed from (vs. near to) an event or object makes people construe the event or object in a more abstract (vs. concrete) way, which, in turn, leads people to process abstract (vs. concrete) information more fluently and thus evaluate the sender of this information more favorably. Accordingly, supervisor effectiveness may be higher in conditions where communication and psychological distance to the supervisor converge (vision/far and goals/close) rather than diverge (vision/close and goals/far). We tested this hypothesis in two experiments, using different operationalizations of psychological distance. In these studies, we found supervisor effectiveness to be higher when vision was communicated at a far versus near distance and goals were communicated at a near versus far distance.

Purpose: In this study, we draw from the Job Demands-Resources model (JDR, Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001; Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Bakker & Demerouti, 2017) and the underlying Conservation of Resources Theory (COR; Hobfoll, 1989; Hobfoll & Shirom, 2001) to suggest that teaching is a highly demanding and stressful job which leads to burnout through elevated levels of state anxiety. This may especially be the case for teachers high on trait anxiety as they are expected to react with elevated levels of state anxiety to stressful situations (Rudaizky, Page, & MacLeod, 2012; Shell & Husman, 2008) but may also experience more prolonged and intensified effects of state anxiety (Rudaizky et al., 2012) and may be less able to cope with state anxiety (Sagar, Busch, & Jowett, 2010). As such, we suggest that trait anxiety is an important strengthening factor in the process through which teachers develop state anxiety and consequently burnout. Methods: Data were collected on a weekly basis. A base line measure was taken at week 1, followed by three weekly questionnaires, which were available from Friday through Sunday in order to control the timeframes in which responses were recoded. To start the first survey, respondents clicked on a link that was hosted by an external service (i.e., qualtrics). They also entered a personal code that was used to match this survey with the weekly surveys. Teachers’ anxiety was measured with the Dutch translation of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1983). This questionnaire assesses both how the respondent feel at the present time (i.e., state anxiety) and in general (i.e., trait anxiety). Results: The results of a PROCESS analysis (model 59), advocated by Hayes (2017) to test moderated mediation, showed that state anxiety mediates the relationship between job demands and burnout at all levels of trait anxiety. Specifically, the 95% biased correct bootstrap intervals for the indirect effect were respectively equal to .14-.34 at low levels of the moderator, .16-.32 at the average level of the moderator, .15-.35 at high level of the moderator. Job demands measured in week 1 related significantly positive to state anxiety measured in week 2, B = .31, SE = .15, p = .03. State anxiety (week 2) related significant to burnout, measured in week 3, B = .67, SE = .18, p = .00. The interaction with trait anxiety was not significant but the main effect of trait anxiety on burnout was significant, B = .90, SE = .25, p = .00. Limitations: An important limitation of the current study is that data were collected through self-reports, which may suffer from common method variance. Research/Practical Implications: In this study, we suggest that a plausible and sofar neglected underlying mechanism for the relationship between job demands and mental breakdown in terms of burnout is state anxiety. State anxiety can be defined as nervousness and worries about failure (Spielberger, 1985). Anxious employees feel tense and emotionally aroused combined with negative thoughts about failing and not being able to live up to expectations. This momentary emotional state can be triggered by a demanding work context. Originality/Value: The literature to date does not offer a clear insight into the underlying process between job characteristics and burnout. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that we show that state anxiety may explain why teachers experience burnout upon a high level of job demands. Moreover, we show that this effect is not only prevalent for teachers high on trait anxiety but for all teachers.

Person-organization (PO) fit literature assumes that job seekers are attracted to organizations that signal values similar to their own. When trying to form an image of organizational values, job seekers are influenced by the information provided by the organization, but also by their assumptions about the organization's industry, which may conflict with the organization-specific information. Drawing from construal level theory, this paper advances that the salience of the information provided by the organization over the industry-based assumptions depends on the job seeker's experience of temporal distance from the organization. We argue that at a large - as opposed to a small - temporal distance (1), perceptions of industry values influence perceptions of organizational values more strongly and (2a) subjective fit with industry values is more positively related with attraction towards the organization (2b) because then subjective industry fit and subjective fit with the organization are closely related. Finally, we reason that at a large - as opposed to a small - temporal distance (3), same-industry organizations, despite being different, will be seen as more similarly attractive. Three experiments supported our hypotheses, highlighting the time-dependent influence of industry on job seekers' perceptions of PO fit.

Onderzoek naar etnische voorkeur in selectie heeft tot dusver beperkt aandacht besteed aan de mogelijke invloed van de selectiecontext op de selectiebeslissing. In de huidige studie wordt onderzocht in welke mate de etniciteit van een gekozen kandidaat in een eerste selectieprocedure een invloed heeft op de etnische voorkeur van de selecteur in een tweede selectieprocedure voor een andere functie/organisatie. Op basis van de construal level theorie veronderstellen we verder dat de verwachte psychologische afstand tussen de selecteur en de kandidaat een invloed heeft op de etnische voorkeur in selectie. De resultaten van een 2x2 between subjects experiment (N = 128), gebaseerd op het onderzoeksdesign van Monin en Miller (2001), suggereren dat selecteurs eerder kiezen voor een Belgisch/Nederlandse kandidaat boven een gelijk gekwalificeerde Arabische kandidaat (1) wanneer ze in een voorgaande, ongerelateerde selectieprocedure een Arabische kandidaat hebben geselecteerd, en (2) indien ze een kandidaat selecteren voor het eigen team versus een ander team in de organisatie. Om de validiteit van personeelsselectie te verhogen is het belangrijk om selecteurs bewust te maken van specifieke aspecten van de context die hun selectiebeslissingen kunnen beïnvloeden.

Although both employees and organizations increasingly realize the importance of a good work-life balance, it remains unclear how recruiters react when applicants mention a desire for balance on their CV. We conducted a between-subjects experiment (N = 96) in which one group of participants received a CV of an applicant who valued work-life balance versus a CV from which this information was omitted. Based on signaling theory and gender-role congruence theory, we suggested that mentioning balance on one's CV would lead to less favorable recruitment outcomes through a lower work ethic, especially for men. The results supported this mediation hypothesis but, contrary to expectations, showed that the mediation effect was only significant for women.