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Exploring preferences for present- and future-focused job opportunities across seniors and young adults

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Abstract

Given the rapid increase of the senior population around the world, the current research documents how the concept of time influences the job preferences of older and younger adults in an organizational behavior context. Study 1 reported that older adults devoted significantly more attention towards the present compared to the past and future, while younger adults showed a small preference towards the future compared to the past and present. Mediation analyses revealed that older adults’ reduced sense of time remaining in life led to them devoting less time to the future. A novel finding from the current work was that sense of time remaining in life also significantly suppressed the relationship between age and present temporal focus. That is, an increased sense of time remaining in life was actually associated with enhanced focus on the present among seniors. Study 2 investigated the downstream consequences of temporal focus by examining older and younger adults’ preferences for present- and future-focused job opportunities. Findings revealed that older adults showed a distinct preference for present-focused job opportunities over future-focused ones, whereas younger individuals reported the opposite pattern. These findings highlight how the concept of time influences individuals of varying ages in unique ways, leading to important differences in both cognition and behavior. The practical implications of these findings across various domains such as the workplace, leadership, and team dynamics are discussed.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. Because data collection occurred in different locations with varying time constraints, not all of the participants were able to complete both questionnaires outlined in the measures section below. Specifically, though all 353 participants completed the temporal focus questionnaire, only 178 participants completed the additional questionnaire on sense of time remaining in life. Given our goal of examining mediation with an expected large-sized a-path (from age to sense of time remaining; see Lang & Carstensen, 2002), and anticipated medium-sized b-path (from sense of time remaining to each temporal focus DV), we were significantly above the n = 54 recommended for 80% power.

  2. To demonstrate that the effects on present and future time focus were independent of one another, we re-analyzed each mediation again, entering the other variable as a covariate. The mediation effect of age to sense of time remaining to future time focus remained significant, IE = −.60 [−.92, −.27], controlling for present time focus. The mediation effect of age to sense of time remaining to present time focus remained significant, IE = −.61 [−.88, −.39], controlling for future time focus.

    Furthermore, an anonymous reviewer suggested that only two “sense of time remaining” items had unambiguous construct validity (items #4 and #5). When a composite of just those two items were substituted for the full scale, all mediation paths remained significant in the same direction, and both the future temporal focus mediation, IE = −.69 [−1.04, −.35] and the present temporal focus mediation, IE = −.81 [−1.14, −.53], revealed significant indirect effects.

  3. Due to a clerical error during data collection, the younger adults sample was given a 1 to 7 Likert scale (1 = Not likely at all, 7 = very likely) instead of a 1 to 9 scale. All other facets of the scenario and question were the same.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Towson University, Towson, MD, 21252, USA

    Faizan Imtiaz

  2. Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Li-Jun Ji & Thomas Vaughan-Johnston

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  1. Faizan Imtiaz
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Appendix 1 Study 1 Measures

Appendix 1 Study 1 Measures

Temporal Focus Scale (TFS; Shipp et al., 2009)

  1. 1)

    I think about things from my past.

  2. 2)

    I live my life in the present.

  3. 3)

    I think about what my future has in store.

  4. 4)

    I focus on what is currently happening in my life.

  5. 5)

    I focus on my future.

  6. 6)

    I replay memories of the past in my mind.

  7. 7)

    I imagine what tomorrow will bring for me.

  8. 8)

    My mind is on the here and now.

  9. 9)

    I reflect on what has happened in my life.

  10. 10)

    I think about where I am today.

  11. 11)

    I think back to my earlier days.

  12. 12)

    I think about times to come.

Sense of Time Remaining in Life (Future Time Perspective Scale; Lang & Carstensen, 2002).

  1. 1)

    Many opportunities await me in the future.

  2. 2)

    I expect that I will set many new goals in the future.

  3. 3)

    My future is filled with possibilities.

  4. 4)

    Most of my life lies ahead of me.

  5. 5)

    My future seems infinite to me.

  6. 6)

    I could do anything I want in the future.

  7. 7)

    There is plenty of time left in my life to make new plans.

  8. 8)

    I have the sense time is running out.

  9. 9)

    There are only limited possibilities in my future.

  10. 10)

    As I get older, I begin to experience time as limited.

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Imtiaz, F., Ji, LJ. & Vaughan-Johnston, T. Exploring preferences for present- and future-focused job opportunities across seniors and young adults. Curr Psychol 42, 470–485 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01365-8

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