Employers' beliefs and hiring preferences for older workers: insights from Singapore

Zeewan Lee, Hui Foh Foong, Xinyi Chen, Joelle H. Fong and Leng Leng Thang

International Journal of Manpower, 2026, vol. 47, issue 2, 257-282

Abstract: PurposeThis study examines how employer perceptions influence hiring preferences for older workers, comparing their perceptions on mature (ages 50–59) and senior (ages 60+) workers.Design/methodology/approachWe collect a nationwide survey of HR managers in Singapore, surveying employers' perceptions and valuation of older workers and categorising them into behavioural, normative and control beliefs.FindingsThis study finds that employers in Singapore hold distinct hiring preferences for mature workers (aged 50–59) and senior workers (60+), shaped by differences in behavioural, normative and control beliefs. In terms of behavioural beliefs, leadership and interpersonal skills increased the employability of mature workers but had neutral or negative effects for senior workers. For normative beliefs, supportive attitudes towards later-life employment – such as rejecting fixed retirement ages or valuing training – were linked to greater hiring of mature workers, but had little to no impact on hiring senior workers. Regarding control beliefs, mature workers benefitted from access to internal training opportunities, while senior workers were more likely to be hired in response to labour shortages.Originality/valueThe results underscore the need to disaggregate the category of “older workers” in HRM practices and policies, as employers' beliefs and organisational conditions shape subgroup-specific hiring biases. Distinct strategies should be devised to reintroduce mature and senior workers back into the labour force to promote their productive longevity.

Keywords: Older workers; Human resource management; Population ageing; Productive longevity; Hiring decisions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/ijm/article/47/2/257/13349 ... references-for-older (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/ijm/article-pdf/47/2/257/11178476/ijm-02-2025-0151en.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ijmpps:ijm-02-2025-0151

DOI: 10.1108/IJM-02-2025-0151

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Manpower is currently edited by Professor Adrian Ziderman

More articles in International Journal of Manpower from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().