Age and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in the Workplace

ABSTRACT As many countries address their aging populations by increasing the retirement age, the workforce now includes a larger proportion of older workers. Despite prevalent stereotypes of older workers, such as age-related declines in ability, research suggests that older workers may possess distinctive strengths in terms of emotional skills. In this chapter, we examine whether older workers possess strengths in interpersonal emotion regulation, a process that involves managing the emotions of others, a key feature of workplace interactions that can influence important outcomes, such as wellbeing, relationship quality, and performance. Drawing on key theories of aging, we illustrate how cognitive, emotional, and motivational changes shape individuals’ ability to regulate others’ emotions effectively. We further explore whether perceptions of interpersonal emotion regulation ability may be influenced by the regulator’s age, thus considering the possibility that age not only shapes workers’ regulation of others’ feelings but also how others react to their regulation attempts. Finally, we reflect on whether the age of the recipient of interpersonal emotion regulation and the age congruence of the people involved in a regulation interaction are salient factors in shaping the nature and effects of interpersonal emotion regulation. By integrating lifespan developmental theories, age stereotype theories, and research on interpersonal emotion regulation, this chapter offers a holistic perspective on how this process evolves with age, highlighting the complexities of emotional interactions in age-diverse work environments.