The curvilinear relationships between perceived development human resource practices and both affective commitment and work stress: the moderating effects of age

Purpose This paper aims to reveal the curvilinear relationships between perceived development human resource practices (DHRPs) and both affective commitment and work stress, and the moderating effects of age on the curvilinear relationships. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses were developed from an employee-oriented contingent view based on the person-job fit theory and lifespan development theories. Methods suggested by Haans et al. (2016) and Dawson (2014) to test curvilinear relationships and related moderations, and a two-wave survey data from 742 Chinese employees were used. Findings The results showed that perceived DHRPs related to affective commitment in an inverted U shape and work stress in a U shape. However, age moderated the nature of the relationships such that both the curvilinear relationships only existed under low age while under high age perceived DHRPs related to affective commitment positively and work stress negatively. Originality/value This study advances the prevailing linear (positive or negative) thinking on the DHRPs–outcomes relationships by showing that perceived DHRPs relate to both affective commitment and work stress nonlinearly. Moreover, different from existing findings that age moderates the strength of the linear DHRPs–outcomes relationships, the results indicate that age moderates the nature of the relationships between perceived DHRPs and affective commitment and work stress. This implies a refined age-differential approach to use DHRPs to sustain a committed and healthy workforce in the context of workforce aging.