YOU’RE RETIRED! AGEISM PUSHING OLDER WORKERS OUT OF WORKFORCE – NEW RESEARCH REVEALS
According to a new study, Britain’s ageing workforce faces widespread ageism in the workplace.
Pearn Kandola is one of the UK’s top business psychologists. They commissioned this report, and then surveyed 3503 people in the UK, to determine how demographic changes were affecting employees.
The government is calling on employers to combat ageism as the demographics indicate that, by 2030, nearly half of UK workers will be older than 50, up from just a third today.
Ageism is a problem that affects people of all ages. While 18-34 year olds reported being prejudiced, those over 51 years were 1.7 more likely to be victims.
According to the study, a quarter (25%) retired respondents and 28% unemployed respondents felt that age discrimination played a part in their current employment situation.
While older people were more likely than millennials to report ageism and negative stereotypes, many Millennials complained about discrimination.
Nearly 90% (88%) said that age discrimination occurs in the workplace. Seven out of ten respondents said that age discrimination is a problem at work. Nearly two-thirds (38%) reported having witnessed age discrimination.
In spite of this, 41% of respondents who witnessed age discrimination did not take any action. One quarter (26%) talked to the victim. One in five (19%) confronted their perpetrator. And 12% reported it to HR.
The report shows that when action was taken it led to a “suitable outcome” in less than half of the cases (45%). In nearly a third, the problem was not resolved (31%), while complaints were ignored or there was no action taken on a quarter of the occasions (23%)
Professor Binna Kandola is the author of the report. She is a business psychologist and founder at Pearn Kandola. Employers will be faced with increasing divisions, productivity losses and problems in harmony as the population ages.
Ageism is a self-harming act for any organisation. It limits the ability of an organization to use the vast experience, knowledge and insight of a diverse workforce. The problem of ageism often starts with recruitment. Job descriptions and requirements can unconsciously be off-putting to older workers.
Businesses that get it right can unlock enormous value, enabling all employees to share their experience, insights, skills, and approaches throughout the entire organization.
The report identified the most common ageism incidents as “colleagues making assumptions” about a victim’s abilities – 29% among 51+, 28% for 18-34-year-olds, and 20% for 35-50-year-olds. The report found that 27% of those over 51 were the recipients of age-related jokes.
A large majority of workers said that they were treated differently based on their age. This included 20% of those aged 51+, 21% of 18-34-year-olds and 13% of 35-50-year-olds.
Pearn Kandola commissioned a nationally representative survey to determine Britain’s attitudes to the issues raised in the report.
A third of respondents said that they believed their workplace valued younger employees over older ones.
In a sign that more work is needed to change the perception of age at work, the average respondent stated 53 years of age as the point when someone is too old to be employed. One in ten respondents were concerned about their age being listed on their CV, as it could lead to them not getting the job they wanted.
Over 40% of those with hiring responsibility said that they prefer to manage people younger than themselves and a little over half were encouraged to hire someone younger.
43 percent said that they have experienced discriminatory words on a daily basis.
The most offensive expressions were “You can’t train an old dog to learn new tricks”, “we are in need of some fresh blood” or “You have way too much experience for the position.”
Most common complaints were being overlooked for promotions, receiving less favorable assignments, and hearing about negative comments.
Over 35% of respondents said that workplaces should do more to combat ageism. Mandatory diversity training was the most popular action to combat discrimination, followed by quotas in businesses for different age groups.
TOP STEPS TO TACKLE AGEISM
- Be aware of negative stereotypes and biases. All ages should receive training in stereotyping, as young workers will eventually become older workers. It is also important to focus on subtle and benevolent stereotypical beliefs, as they are harder to detect.
- Cross-collaboration among workers from different age groups. Intergenerational communication has positive effects.
- Age Without Limits is England’s first antiaging campaign (2024). The research suggests that implicit preferences for younger employees were reduced the more older adults perceived ageing positively.
- Clarify the legality of discrimination based on age.
- Make sure that employees are aware of the actions they can take if discrimination occurs and that all action is completed.
- Include inclusion policies in your marketing materials.
You’re retired! The first time this article appeared on HR News was AGEISM PUSHING OLDER WORKERS OUT of the Workforce – NEW RESEARCH reveals.
