Abstract

The current study investigated the relations of individualized HRM with multiple organizational performance indicators. Based on signaling theory and social exchange theory, it was predicted that the availability and use of different individualized HRM practices in organizations would be positively related to performance growth and negatively related to employee absence and employee turnover. Moreover, we investigated the moderating role of employee age in these relationships. Based on lifespan theory of aging, we expected that individualized work schedule practices would be more strongly related to outcomes for older workers while individualized development and financial pay practices would be more strongly related for younger workers. A large-scale representative study among 4,591 organizations in the Netherlands showed support for the relationships of individualized HR practices with organizational performance. Moreover, employee age moderated the relationships between the use of individualized practices and sickness absence and turnover, such that organizations with a high percentage of older workers benefited from work schedule practices, and organizations with high percentage of younger workers benefited from development practices.