Presented by Professor Karen Niven, from the Management School

People often hold negative stereotypes about older workers that explicitly or implicitly shape the opportunities afforded to older members of the workforce and how they are treated at work. While previous research seeking to enhance the experiences of older workers has focused on challenging these stereotypes, which are largely unfounded, in my research I take a different approach: focusing on the distinctive strengths of older workers. In this talk, I focus on ways in which older workers may be more effective than their younger counterparts when it comes to managing others' feelings, which is a key skill required in virtually all jobs that involve working with others (and especially 'frontline' occupations, like service and care work).