Empowering frontline supervisors and the psychological health of mid-to-late career transition workers

Abstract

In this descriptive qualitative study conducted among mid-to-late career transition workers at the company CEVITAL in Bejaia, we carried out thirty-five individual interviews to explore the role of managerial empowerment by immediate supervisors in preserving employees’ psychological health. The findings reveal that the absence of recognition at work — including esteem, status, and non-monetary rewards — is associated with increased psychological distress. A lack of autonomy, particularly the absence of leeway to adapt cooperative procedures within the team and/or to adjust tasks in response to the gradual decline of psychological and physical resources with age, is linked to a heightened risk of burnout. Moreover, insufficient support — whether socio-emotional toward the individual or professional in nature — is associated with a deterioration in workplace well-being.