Age and career resilience through the lens of life course theory: Examining individual mechanisms and macro-level context across 28 countries

Bernadeta Gostautaite; Najung Kim; Bryndis D. Steindorsdottir; Emma Parry; Silvia Dello Russo; Maike Andresen; Siriwut Buranapin; Janine Bosak; Jean-Luc Cerdin; Katharina Chudzikowski; Rick Cotton; Michael Dickmann; Henrique Duarte; Sonia Ferencikova; Robert Kase; Evgenia Lysova; Sergio Madero-Gómez; Sushanta  Kumar Mishra; Leda Panayotopoulou; Elo L. K. Reiss; Richa Saxena; Mami Taniguchi; Jos Akkermans; Eleni Apospori; Silvia Bagdadli; Jon P. Briscoe; K. Övgü Çakmak-Otluoğlu; Tania Casado; Jong-Seok Cha; Nicky Dries; Anders  Dysvik; Petra Eggenhofer-Rehart; Leire Gartzia; Martina Gianecchini; Martin Gubler; Denise Jepsen; (Tim) Douglas Hall; Svetlana N. Khapova; Daniel Krajcik; Emilie Lapointe; Mila Lazarova; Wolfgang Mayrhofer; Eric J.  Michel; Biljana Bogićević Milikić; Astrid Reichel; Florian Schramm; Adam Smale; Ingo Stolz; Pamela Agata  Suzanne; Jelena Zikic

doi:10.1111/1748-8583.12596

Age and career resilience through the lens of life course theory: Examining individual mechanisms and macro-level context across 28 countries

Bernadeta Gostautaite
, Najung Kim
, Bryndis D. Steindorsdottir
, Emma Parry
, Silvia Dello Russo
, Maike Andresen
, Siriwut Buranapin
, Janine Bosak
, Jean-Luc Cerdin
, Katharina Chudzikowski
, Rick Cotton
, Michael Dickmann
, Henrique Duarte
, Sonia Ferencikova
, Robert Kase
, Evgenia Lysova
, Sergio Madero-Gómez
, Sushanta Kumar Mishra
, Leda Panayotopoulou
, Elo L. K. Reiss

Richa Saxena, Mami Taniguchi, Jos Akkermans, Eleni Apospori, Silvia Bagdadli, Jon P. Briscoe, K. Övgü Çakmak-Otluoğlu, Tania Casado, Jong-Seok Cha, Nicky Dries, Anders Dysvik, Petra Eggenhofer-Rehart, Leire Gartzia, Martina Gianecchini, Martin Gubler, Denise Jepsen, (Tim) Douglas Hall, Svetlana N. Khapova, Daniel Krajcik, Emilie Lapointe, Mila Lazarova, Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Eric J. Michel, Biljana Bogićević Milikić, Astrid Reichel, Florian Schramm, Adam Smale, Ingo Stolz, Pamela Agata Suzanne, Jelena Zikic

ISM University of Management and Economics
Kookmin University
VID Specialized University
Cranfield University
Luiss Guido Carli University
University of Bamberg
Chiang Mai University
Dublin City University
ESSEC Business School
University of Victoria
Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE‐IUL)
University of Economics in Bratislava
University of Ljubljana
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Tecnológico de Monterrey
Indian Institute of Management Indore
Athens University of Economics and Business
University of St. Gallen
Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
Waseda University
Bocconi University
Northern Illinois University
Istanbul University
University of São Paulo
Hansung University
KU Leuven
BI Norwegian Business School
Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Università di Padova
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Boston University
Simon Fraser University, Vancouver
University of Salzburg
Universität Hamburg
University of Vaasa
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Lucerne School of Business
Universidad de San Andrés

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Career resilience is critical to the world’s aging workforce, aiding older workers in adapting to the ever-evolving nature of work. While ageist stereotypes often depict older workers as less resilient when faced with workplace changes, existing research studies offer conflicting evidence on whether older age hinders or improves career resilience. In response to this conflicting evidence, the present study employs multi-level data from 6,772 employees in 28 countries to examine the age-career resilience relationships and underlying mechanisms, hence advancing our understanding of career resilience across the life course. By integrating macro-contextual factors such as the unemployment rate and the culture of education with individual-level mechanisms such as positive career meaning and career optimism, we provide a comprehensive model explaining how career resilience varies across age groups. Grounded in life course theory, our findings resolve prior inconsistencies in resilience research, contribute to bridging the micro-macro gap in HRM literature, and challenge existing age-based stereotypes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	879-893
Number of pages	15
Journal	Human Resource Management Journal
Volume	35
Issue number	4
Early online date	8 Apr 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12596
Publication status	Published - 30 Nov 2025

Data Availability Statement

Research data are not shared.

Acknowledgements

This multiauthor research team strived to maximize the benefits of international collaboration while upholding research standards. This was critical to our ability to answer our research questions which require a multi-country approach and thousands of respondents. All authors contributed to forming the research concept through virtual and hybrid meetings, with most involved in collecting data across study countries in some capacity. The first 23 authors engaged in preliminary data analysis and discussions through virtual and hybrid meetings. Among them, seven core authors refined these collective insights further. The initial manuscript was composed by the leading seven before soliciting and incorporating comprehensive feedback from all collaborators. The resulting final draft, approved for submission by every author, embodies the collective contributions and perspectives of all 51 research team members, each ready to stand by its design, development and findings. This inclusive approach was also applied during revision phases, enhancing the study's extensive dataset and bolstering the credibility of our findings, an outcome we believe a smaller group would not have achieved.

Funding

The article is the result of a collaborative effort by members of the 5C research group ( https://5c.careers ). Additionally, it is based upon work from COST Action Leverage, CA22120, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). The first author's work and data collection in Lithuania were partially funded by a grant from the Research Council of Lithuania (No. S\u2010MIP\u201020\u20109). Funding:

Funders	Funder number
European Cooperation in Science and Technology	CA22120
Lietuvos Mokslo Taryba	S‐MIP‐20‐9

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

Keywords

age
life course theory
career resilience
positive career meaning
career optimism
country-level context

Access to Document

10.1111/1748-8583.12596Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

Gostautaite, B., Kim, N., Steindorsdottir, B. D., Parry, E., Dello Russo, S., Andresen, M., Buranapin, S., Bosak, J., Cerdin, J.-L., Chudzikowski, K., Cotton, R., Dickmann, M., Duarte, H., Ferencikova, S., Kase, R., Lysova, E., Madero-Gómez, S., Kumar Mishra, S., Panayotopoulou, L., ... Zikic, J. (2025). Age and career resilience through the lens of life course theory: Examining individual mechanisms and macro-level context across 28 countries. Human Resource Management Journal , 35(4), 879-893. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12596

Gostautaite, B, Kim, N, Steindorsdottir, BD, Parry, E, Dello Russo, S, Andresen, M, Buranapin, S, Bosak, J, Cerdin, J-L, Chudzikowski, K, Cotton, R, Dickmann, M, Duarte, H, Ferencikova, S, Kase, R, Lysova, E, Madero-Gómez, S, Kumar Mishra, S, Panayotopoulou, L, Reiss, ELK, Saxena, R, Taniguchi, M, Akkermans, J, Apospori, E, Bagdadli, S, Briscoe, JP, Çakmak-Otluoğlu, KÖ, Casado, T, Cha, J-S, Dries, N, Dysvik, A, Eggenhofer-Rehart, P, Gartzia, L, Gianecchini, M, Gubler, M, Jepsen, D, Hall, D, Khapova, SN, Krajcik, D, Lapointe, E, Lazarova, M, Mayrhofer, W, Michel, EJ, Milikić, BB, Reichel, A, Schramm, F, Smale, A, Stolz, I, Suzanne, PA & Zikic, J 2025, 'Age and career resilience through the lens of life course theory: Examining individual mechanisms and macro-level context across 28 countries', Human Resource Management Journal , vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 879-893. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12596

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abstract = "Career resilience is critical to the world{\textquoteright}s aging workforce, aiding older workers in adapting to the ever-evolving nature of work. While ageist stereotypes often depict older workers as less resilient when faced with workplace changes, existing research studies offer conflicting evidence on whether older age hinders or improves career resilience. In response to this conflicting evidence, the present study employs multi-level data from 6,772 employees in 28 countries to examine the age-career resilience relationships and underlying mechanisms, hence advancing our understanding of career resilience across the life course. By integrating macro-contextual factors such as the unemployment rate and the culture of education with individual-level mechanisms such as positive career meaning and career optimism, we provide a comprehensive model explaining how career resilience varies across age groups. Grounded in life course theory, our findings resolve prior inconsistencies in resilience research, contribute to bridging the micro-macro gap in HRM literature, and challenge existing age-based stereotypes. ",

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AU - Briscoe, Jon P.

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Age and career resilience through the lens of life course theory: Examining individual mechanisms and macro-level context across 28 countries

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Acknowledgements

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

5C II: 5C Cross-cultural collaboration on contemporary careers (Phase II)

Cite this

Age and career resilience through the lens of life course theory: Examining individual mechanisms and macro-level context across 28 countries

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Acknowledgements

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

5C II: 5C Cross-cultural collaboration on contemporary careers (Phase II)

Cite this