The present study examined the reactions of older and younger workers
to the situation of encountering an error during computer-based work.
It was expected that older workers would have a stronger negative emot
ional reaction to such an error due to a combination of age-related fa
ctors. In both a questionnaire and an observational study among 134 of
fice workers this was found to be the case. This age relationship rema
ined after controlling for differences in computer experience, attitud
es to new technology, education and the number of errors made by parti
cipants during a typical computer-based work session. More detailed an
alyses showed that in response to an error situation, older workers co
mpared to younger ones stated they were significantly less likely to t
ry and solve the problem entirely on their own; this was also partly s
upported by the observational data. In terms of the available options
for helping rectify errors, older workers reported that they were more
often likely to use written documentation and rely less on asking oth
er workers. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of
interventions to ameliorate the impact of errors in computer-based wo
rk on an older workforce.