Psychological obstacles to job or career change in late life

Abstract

Four studies involving middle-aged and older workers were conducted to (a) explore perceived obstacles to adaptive job or career changes in later-life, and (b) develop an instrument with which to identify older adults who might be more sensitive to such obstacles. A reliable instrument was developed which reflected three broad categories of perceived risk: (a) age-inappropriateness of the change, (b) potential for age-discrimination, and (c) risk of hastened obsolescence. As evidence for the convergent validity of the instrument, the results indicated a heightened sensitivity to job change obstacles among respondents with: (a) age-sensitized concerns about job and financial security, (b) poorer psychological adjustment to a plateaued career, and (c) poorer psychological and social adjustment to their own aging.