Age Discrimination and Employability in Healthcare Work: A Double-Edged Sword for Older Workers?

Abstract

Due to the aging workforce, older workers, especially in the healthcare industry, must remain employable. However, older healthcare workers may face age discrimination that can limit their employability chances. In this study, we examined (a) the causal direction of the relationship between age discrimination and internal employability and (b) differences between age groups (young (≤30), middle-aged (31–44), and older (≥45) healthcare workers) in this relationship. Based on the Selection Optimization Compensation theory, we postulated that (i,ii) internal employability and age discrimination are inversely negatively related to one another over time and that (ii–iv) this relationship would be strongest for older employees compared to other age groups. We conducted a two-wave complete panel study among 1478 healthcare professionals to test these hypotheses. The results of our multi-group structural equation modeling analyses suggested that internal employability is a significant negative predictor of age discrimination. Moreover, results suggested that internal employability and age discrimination have a reciprocal relationship among older workers but are unrelated for younger and middle-aged workers. Theoretical and practical implications of our results are discussed.