Age/Job Satisfaction: Assessment of the Shape of the Relationship from a Systems Perspective

Prominent review articles conclude that the relationship between age and job satisfaction is probably linear because the clear majority of studies has produced linear findings. Recent research has suggested,however, that if the age/satisfaction relationship was investigated using appropriate multivariate techniques while controlling for levels of employee tenure, the “true” shape of the relationship could be determined. Unfortunately, studies which have done so have come to opposite conclusions about the linearity/curvilinearity of the relationship. The present investigation, using 457 employees of a US social service organization, suggests that the shape of the age/satisfaction relationship is neither universal nor invariate but, in fact, depends on individual and situational differences.