Do increases in work uncertainty help older workers maintain higher levels of occupational future time perspective?

Abstract In this study, we consider how changes in work uncertainty (i.e., systematic, linear trajectories that reflect over-time changes in resource, task, and input/output uncertainty) moderate the generally negative relation between employee age and occupational future time perspective (OFTP) (i.e., employees’ perceptions of their remaining time, opportunities, and limitations at work). Based on the theoretical model of uncertainty regulation and propositions from socioemotional selectivity theory, we argue that increases (vs. decreases) in work uncertainty present the potential for new opportunities, particularly among older (vs. younger) workers, who can draw on their age-related strengths for dealing with uncertainty. Specifically, we argue that increases in work uncertainty allow older workers to make use of their accumulated knowledge and experience, which, in turn, helps them to maintain higher levels of OFTP. We consider longitudinal data collected among a sample of n = 720 employees in Germany. Considering substantive variables, variously measured across 18 months, we find evidence in partial support of the general proposition that increases in work uncertainty across three months (i.e., June through September of 2022) buffer the relation between age and OFTP collected at four subsequent timepoints (November of 2022, and June, November, and December of 2023). We discuss the implications of these findings for the future development of the model of uncertainty regulation.