Annet H. de Lange

Wise proactivity refers to employees' change‐oriented initiative guided by practical judgment, balancing situational demands (context), stakeholder relationships (others), and self‐regulation (self). Although the recently developed Wise Proactivity Scale (WPS) has shown validity across countries, evidence for its applicability in Western European contexts remains limited. This study adapted and validated the short‐form WPS in the Netherlands and examined its factorial, discriminant, and incremental validity. To evaluate the psychometric properties and validity of the modified Dutch version of the short‐form WPS, a forward‐backward translation procedure and expert review were conducted, and data were collected from a sample of 184 Dutch employees working in elderly care. Wise proactivity was assessed alongside related self‐regulatory resources (self‐leadership, reflective ability, and resilience) and outcomes including job satisfaction and employability. Results supported the hypothesized higher‐order structure, with three first‐order dimensions (context, others, and self) loading onto a single overarching wise proactivity factor, supporting construct validity. The modified Dutch version of the short‐form WPS demonstrated discriminant validity from related constructs and incremental validity by explaining additional variance in job satisfaction and employability beyond demographics and the self‐regulatory resources. These findings provide initial evidence supporting the psychometric properties of the modified Dutch version of the short‐form WPS in a sample of Dutch elderly care employees.

How to age successfully: Thematic issue ‘Age at work’ (part 2) This is the editorial for the second part of the special issue ‘Age at Work’. Four articles are featured in this second part. The first article examines the role of job crafting for sustainable careers among healthcare workers, in relation to age. The second article studies how experienced economic skills obsolescence relates to developmental opportunities at work, and the role of psychological resources and age within this relationship. The third article analyses how HR bundles aimed at ‘successful aging at work’ influence turnover intention via work engagement among wind turbine technicians. The fourth article, drawing on self-determination theory and Schwartz’s theory of basic values, examines the associations between personal values, experienced autonomy, and bridge employment after retirement. Together, the studies show how HR practices, job crafting, and resources support successful aging at work across diverse work contexts.

Values and motivations of (non-)bridge workers In many developed countries, societies face the challenges of a rapidly ageing population, resulting in rising pension costs, pressure on healthcare systems, and labour shortages. Continuing work after retirement, also known as bridge employment, may help to alleviate some of these challenges. Drawing on self-determination theory and Schwartz’s theory of basic human values, this study (N = 240) examined the associations between personal values, experienced autonomy, and bridge employment, and whether autonomy moderates these relationships. The results showed that personal values were not directly associated with the likelihood of engaging in bridge employment. However, openness to change was slightly positively related to bridge employment at higher levels of autonomy. In addition, autonomy was not related to the likelihood of working after retirement, but was positively associated with the number of hours worked in bridge employment. These findings suggest that personal values alone are insufficient to explain continued work behavior, and that the behavioral relevance of the value openness is associated with the extent to which individuals can make their own choices. From a practical perspective, facilitating autonomy may be associated with the extent to which retirees remain active in paid work.

Worldwide, many hospitals have adopted an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and are currently in the post-implementation phase. To exploit EHRs to their full potential, healthcare professionals must continuously engage in adaptive behaviors to cope with (changes and updates in) EHR systems, and explore existing and novel EHR functionalities. This systematic review aimed to (a) identify factors related to EHR adaptation and innovation among healthcare professionals in hospitals, and (b) develop a multidisciplinary integrative framework. A PRISMA-compliant systematic review was conducted. We searched the databases PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and PsycInfo for the period from 2019 to 2023. After validation of the eligibility criteria by two independent reviewers, the first reviewer performed title and abstract screening, followed by full-text screening. Data extraction was carried out by the first reviewer and risk of bias assessment by two independent reviewers. Subsequently, the first reviewer summarized the collected data using a narrative synthesis approach in collaboration with the other reviewers. Out of the 3,585 studies emerging from databases and citation searching, 14 studies were included in this study. Regarding EHR adaptation, psychological, work design, technological, and organizational factors were identified. Regarding EHR innovation, predominantly psychological and work design factors were found. Healthcare professionals' knowledge and proficiency, task prioritization, recognition of EHR benefits, and their mindset towards change were relevant psychological/individual factors. Important work design factors were time and information availability, workflow impact, task dynamism, technostress, role clarity, and autonomy. Well-designed and functioning EHR modifications or novel EHR tools were significant technological factors. Identified organizational factors were available resources, an organizational climate of innovation and change, and comprehensive change and human resource management practices accompanying EHR changes. Most of the eligible studies dealt with EHR adaptation, and a few with EHR innovation. Based on the review findings, an integrative framework was developed that entails key factors for EHR adaptation and innovation among healthcare professionals in the post-implementation phase of EHRs. Thereby, this review provides first directions for healthcare organizations to exploit the EHR's full potential. The study was registered in Prospero on March 16, 2024 (CRD42024520547; last update: June 30, 2025).

Myths, prejudices, and facts: Thematic issue ‘Age at work’ (part 1) This is the editorial for the first part of the special issue ‘Age at work’. Four articles are featured in this first part. The first two articles address the differences in work performance across age groups, the myths surrounding this, and the facts. The third article in this issue focuses on the actual differences in mental health within one age group: younger workers. The first two articles of this special issue also discuss how to combat prejudices and stereotypes about older workers. The fourth article focuses on the causes of sustainable employability and interventions to enhance sustainable employability. Older workers who are sustainably employable demonstrate that the prejudices against older workers are unfounded. Together, the articles in this special issue show that the aging workforce compels us to reconsider our perspectives on age, employability, and careers.