Social identification, perception of aging, and successful aging in the workplace

This study adopted self-identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979) to examine the role of affective and cognitive identification and the perception of aging with regard to Chinese employees’ successful aging in the workplace. A total of 242 Chinese workers in Hong Kong aged 45 and above were recruited. Results showed that cognitive identification was significantly related to four successful aging in the workplace dimensions, whereas affective identification was significantly related to all of the five aspects of successful aging in the workplace. Moderated regression analyses suggested that the association between cognitive/affective identification and successful aging in the workplace was moderated by a positive perception of aging. Post hoc analyses indicated successful aging in the workplace was more likely to occur when an individual has identified themselves as aging workers and they had positive perception toward aging. Limitations and practical implications were discussed.