ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the relationship between age and work outcomes. It examines how age influences sport, physical activity, and leisure participation. As the Diversity Challenge illustrates, one's age plays a meaningful role in sport and physical activity participation. Age also affects a person's experience within sport organizations. The aging of the US population coincides with an increasing proportion of employees who choose to work past the traditional retirement age. People over age 40 are protected from discrimination by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). As a consequence, age diversity is increasing, including within sport organizations. Age-related stereotypes represent beliefs or expectations about employees based on their age or presumed age. Common stereotypes include: poor performance, resistance to change, ability to learn, shorter tenure, more costly, and more dependable. Older employees are routinely disadvantaged in the selection process. Training and development represent a third area in which older employees face discrimination.
