Employment equity groups' experience of inclusion and commitment to the CAF.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are subject to the Employment Equity Act, which requires federally regulated employers to identify and eliminate barriers to the employment of designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities (PwD), and racialized members), and establish short-term, numerical goals to address underrepresentation. Addressing employment barriers experienced by these equity seeking groups is one of the CAF's key priorities. The objective of this study is to examine group differences in feelings of inclusion (i.e., relatedness, organizational inclusion, and microaggressions) and retention-related measures (i.e., job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intentions to leave), the contribution of feelings of inclusion to retention measures, and the effect of numerical representation and number of marginalized identities on these concepts. We analyzed data from the 2022 Your Say Matters survey, which was administered to a representative sample of CAF members, with oversampling of under-represented groups. Respondents included 4,483 Regular Force members (30.9% response rate). The groups under study included Indigenous members, persons with disabilities, racialized members, women not part of another group (non-Indigenous, non-racialized, women without disabilities), and everyone else (non-Indigenous, non-racialized, not women, without disabilities). Our hypotheses were supported overall, such that groups with less representation in the CAF scored lower on inclusion measures than groups with more representation. The number of marginalized identities held by military members predicted the inclusion measures, but did not predict retention-related measures. There were some group differences on retention-related measures, such that women not part of another group scored more favorably than other designated groups, and racialized members scored more favorably than PwD and Indigenous members. Inclusion measures predicted job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intentions to leave equally for all groups studied, suggesting that feeling included is important for all.

Development and evolution of commitment profiles among military recruits: Implications for turnover intention and well-being.

We investigate the development and consequences of commitment profiles among Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) recruits who completed surveys at the end of basic training (N = 3998) and three (N = 636) and nine (N = 612) months later. The surveys included measures of affective, normative, and continuance commitment as well as measures developed by the CAF to assess recruits' experiences, career intentions, and well-being. Latent profile analyses of commitment at the end of basic training revealed four quantitatively distinct profiles (i.e., profiles differing in elevation but not shape). Strength of commitment related positively with perceived values fit, support from instructors and fellow recruits, and well-being, and negatively with turnover intention. Analyses of longitudinal data obtained following basic training revealed a stable and more differentiated 6-profile structure reflecting weak, exchange-based (continuance-dominant) and value-based (strong affective alone or in combination with strong normative and continuance) commitment. Value-based profiles were associated with greater perceived values fit, supervisor support, and well-being, and lower turnover intentions. The relative advantages of identifying the more nuanced commitment mind-sets reflected in commitment profiles is discussed along with the relevance of early onboarding experiences for the development of value-based commitment and retention.

Canadian government's framing of ageing at work and older workers: Echoing positive ageing models.

BACKGROUND: Public representations of ageing can influence how individuals perceive their own experience of ageing. Results of studies on the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)'s governmental messages on older workers suggest that they are mainly constructed around economic productivity and personal responsibility. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to examine how the Canadian government frames issues around ageing, work and older workers. Canada is facing a rapidly ageing workforce, hence the importance of examining how the government discusses ageing at work. METHOD: A thematic content analysis was conducted on a total of 154 government web pages. RESULTS: Results revealed that predominant themes revolve around economic challenges resulting from an ageing workforce. Older workers are depicted as a key component for the (economic) management of an ageing workforce. More specifically, older workers who intend to continue working are highly valued in the government's messages which present them as productive citizens and role models for "ageing well". CONCLUSION: Canada's response to the challenges of an ageing workforce echoes the underlying standards of positive ageing models, which may generate, perhaps inadvertently, a new form of ageism by creating intra-and intergenerational divides in the workplace.

[Health in peril: repercussions of ageism on the psychological disengagement of male nurses aged 45 years and older]. / La santé en péril : répercussions de la communication âgiste sur le désengagement psychologique et l'estime de soi des infirmiers de 45 ans et plus.

These two studies are designed to evaluate the reactions of male nurses aged 45 years and older toward ageism. The goal of the first study is to test the prestigious work domain model of psychological disengagement resulting from a previous study conducted among female nurses. This model has been confirmed through path analyses conducted on a sample of 236 male nurse technicians; by the same token, it has been shown to apply in the case of lower-status employees working in a prestigious field. In particular, the more a male nurse aged 45 and older experiences relative personal deprivation, the more he discredits feedback from his co-workers and superiors; such discrediting, in turn, leads to devaluation of the domain of work, which in turn lowers self-esteem. The goal of the second study is three-fold, namely: (a) testing the disengagement model among 419 male nurse clinicians; (b) extending this model through the addition of ageist communication as a variable triggering personal relative deprivation; and (c) constructing a scale of ageist communication. Path analyses have again confirmed that the way a domain is appreciated influences the negative impact that devaluation can produce on self-esteem, regardless of the gender or status of the employee working in that field. In addition, these results demonstrate the central role played by communication in the workplace as a vehicle of ageism and as a precursor of ageing employees' discomfort. The discussion covers the implications of ageing employees' reactions toward ageism as well as the consequences of depreciatory language and exclusionary communication practices in the workplace.

Shielding self-esteem through the adoption of psychological disengagement mechanisms: the good and the bad news.

The fact that Canada's working population is aging and will continue to do so is no surprise to anyone. What is surprising though is what many of these aging workers are experiencing in the late years of their career: They continue to be the target of negative stereotypes which in turn, reinforce discrimination and marginalization practices. The present study was aimed at understanding the consequences of differential treatment based on age (measured by relative deprivation) from the theoretical perspective of psychological disengagement. A total of 117 Canadian civil servants over the age of 45 participated in this study. According to hypotheses, it was found that feelings of relative deprivation were associated with discounting which in turn led to a decrease in self-esteem. This chain of reactions generated instabilities, fluctuations in self-esteem and through this, questioned the protective role of psychological disengagement. It is only by devaluing their non-prestigious domain of activity that participants seemed to regain stability of their self-esteem. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.