title: Resource Scarcity and Prescriptive Attitudes Generate Subtle, Intergenerational Older-Worker Exclusion.
abstract: Prior work describes specific, prescriptive resource tensions between generations, comprising active Succession, passive Consumption, and symbolic Identity (SCI; North & Fiske, 2013a, 2013b). The current paper focuses on how these domains potentially drive intergenerational exclusion in work-related networking and training spheres. Studies 1a-1c-each focusing on a different SCI domain-manipulated perceived resource availability between generations, then introduced a professional networking opportunity. Across studies, scarcity reduced the likelihood of young participants' networking engagement with older workers who violated SCI resource expectations. Study 2 impelled participants to allocate scarce training resources among three similarly qualified but different-aged employees (younger, middle-aged, and older). Older workers received the lowest such investment, particularly among younger participants-an effect driven by Succession beliefs, per mediation analyses. Overall, the findings emphasize resource tensions in driving older workers' subtle exclusion by younger generations; minimizing such tensions will be critical for aging, increasingly intergenerational workplaces.
authors: New York University.
authors: Michael S
authors: MS
authors: North
authors: Princeton University.
authors: Susan T
authors: ST
authors: Fiske
keywords: Ageism; age prescriptions; aging; intergenerational resources; subtle workplace exclusion