Industrialized workforces across the world are aging and growing more age-diverse. It is estimated that by 2024, 38.2% of workers in the United States will be age 55 or older (Toossi et al., 2015). Similarly, in about half of the European Union (EU) countries more than 20% of the workforce will be older than 55 in 2035 (Aiyar, Ebeke, & Shao, 2016). At the same time, the overall labor force participation rate is declining. In the United States it is estimated that the labor force participation rate will be 61% by 2026 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017). Similarly, the EU workforce is expected to decline by 4.3 million people by 2020 (Eurostat, 2017), and it is expected to shrink further by 12% in 2030 and by 33% in 2060 compared with 2009 levels (European Commission, 2010). These low rates of workforce participation along with the aging workforce strain retirement systems and other social safety net programs. For example, while there were 3.8 people of working age for every dependent person over 65 in the EU in 2002, this number fell to 3.2 people in 2015. By 2020, there will be fewer than three people of working age for every dependent person over 65 in the EU (Eurostat, 2019). To combat this strain on retirement systems, many European governments are raising their official pension age, but labor market participation continues to decrease from age 50 onwards in Europe (Eurostat, 2017). In addition, with increased retirement ages, workplaces are growing more age-diverse, with younger and older people working together more frequently than in the past (Boehm, Kunze, & Bruch, 2014; Finkelstein & Truxillo, 2013).

The editorial team of Human Resources Management Journal would like to invite authors to submit proposals for the Journal’s Review & Provocation section. See this link for an overview of the papers published to date: https://0-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.library.alliant.edu/page/journal/17488583/homepage/provocation_papers.htm

Guest editors: Luciara Nardon (Carleton University, Canada), Betina Szkudlarek (University of Sydney Business School, Australia), Soo Min Toh (University of Toronto, Canada)

The number of refugees worldwide is increasing dramatically. A recent UNHCR report estimates that at the end of 2016 the world refugee population was over 22.5 million (UNHCR, 2017). While the refugee population can help developed countries reverse their negative demographic trends and bring economic and social benefit to host countries, research suggests that many refugees end up underemployed (Krahn et al., 2000) or dependent on public assistance (Hansen & Lofstrom, 2003), thus failing to fully integrate into the host society (Feeney, 2000).