Time and Performance: A Three-Part Study Examining the Relationships of Job Experience, Organizational Tenure, and Age With Job Performance

Abstract

Theoretical and empirical research suggests that job experience, organizational tenure, and age have non-linear relationships with performance. Considered simultaneously, there should exist an inverted U-shaped relationship between time and performance. This paper includes three studies — a meta-analysis, a cross-sectional sample, and a longitudinal sample—to test these hypotheses. Together, the three studies provide complementary evidence supporting the hypotheses. The set of results has implications for theory, research on dynamic performance, and human resource management practice.