Awareness of age-related change and proactivity at work: the mediating roles of future time perspective and goal setting

Awareness of age-related change has been shown to outperform chronological age on a variety of outcomes. More specifically, its two dimensions, awareness of positive and negative age-related changes, have been shown to be, respectively, positively and negatively associated with work-related proactivity, and that they are better predictors than chronological age and subjective age for key types of proactivity. In this paper we construct and test a model of the mechanisms that may explain these relationships. Drawing on two aging theories, socio-emotional selectivity theory and selection, optimization and compensation theory, we hypothesize that future time perspective and goal setting mediate the relationship between awareness of age-related change and proactivity. Using data (n = 410) from a survey of Chinese teachers, the tests of the model support it in the case of two dimensions of proactivity, task and development proactivity. Awareness of age-related change does not, however predict a third dimension, organization proactivity, as having a managerial role is a more dominant factor. The study further quells doubts about older employees’ ability to contribute creatively to their roles and highlights the virtues of aging processes rather than chronological age in understanding work-related behaviors.