The emotional significance of covid-19, considered as a negative major life event, and older employees’ motivation to continue working: the interaction effect of the use of HR practices

Abstract

Purpose: To avoid staff shortages due to an ageing workforce and to deal with the impact of covid-19, organizations need insight into what type of HR practices are helpful to enhance the motivation to continue of the older employees. However, little is known about how to mitigate the emotional significance of covid-19 on the motivation to continue working. Therefore, this research examines to what extent the emotional significance of covid-19 influences the motivation to continue working and whether the use of HR practices moderates this relationship. Methodology: A cross-sectional quantitative analysis with the use of an online survey was conducted among 197 Dutch employees of 50 years or older. The data is analyzed using the PROCESS add-on macro procedure in SPSS. Findings: Contrary to the expectations, the results showed no significant relationship between the emotional significance of covid-19 and the motivation to continue working of older employees. Moreover, the use of HR practices did not weaken the negative relationship between the emotional significance of covid-19 and the motivation to continue working. Research limitations and future research: A limitation of this study is that it provides no evidence of causality because this study used a cross-sectional analysis. Therefore, it is recommended for future research to conduct a longitudinal study with several measurement moments over a period of time. Practical implications: Job resources, such as supportive colleagues, a supportive supervisor, and HR practices appear to help mitigate the emotional significance of covid-19 on the motivation to continue working.