Is Age Discrimination in the Workplace Ok?

In Viking times, the Nordic clans of Scandinavia (during times of food shortages), were known for getting rid of their elders by having them jump from a tall cliff. Crazy, right? But some recent data from Stanford University’s Business School found that the younger people sort of feel the same way about their older counterparts in the office.

NYU’s Michael North and Stanford’s Ashley Martin found that workers who openly oppose racism and sexism were still prejudiced against older workers.

As these researchers explained in their American Psychological Association article about their study, ageism is alive and unwell in the workplace. What’s more, North and Martin discovered after interviewing 348 people, the younger people were, the more likely they were to hold ageist views on older workers. Little surprise that an AARP survey said 78% of older workers saw or experienced age discrimination in the workplace in 2020; in 2018, 61% did.

So to be crystal clear, ageism and discrimination by age in the workplace is not only wrong it’s quite illegal. Our own HR expert, Lorein Brightwell sheds some light here.

“Anything that humans don’t understand, they tend to be extremely cautious of or completely dismiss. Age is no exception. Familiarity and community is the panacea for discrimination. Exposure and collaboration. Professional HR staff will ensure that work teams are made of a diverse workforce INCLUDING diverse age ranges. Everyone wins, because the pool of knowledge is exponentially greater with employees on BOTH ends of the spectrum when it comes to age. When teams have successes and reflect on how they were able to achieve those accomplishments, they will undoubtedly note everyone’s contribution and possibly some personal learning that occurred along the way. This diversity should be the norm and not the exception.

Another proactive approach to erasing the age misconceptions is to mentor new hires with established employees who are in a different age bracket. A company that is a learning company is one that is gaining new insights and applying them to directly or indirectly affect the bottom line; whether that be in the ability to design new software for streamlining a process or understanding what engineering applications WON’T work based on PROVEN EXPERIENCE, which can also streamline processes for production. Exposure to unfamiliar things often breeds understanding and appreciation, dispelling any tendencies that would be contrary to the needed workplace harmony.”

And there you have it! Knowing that ageism exists and how to identify and defend against it is half the battle for smart employers. And the smartest ones KNOW PLB Resources can HELP them deal with any HR situation effectively and get/stay fully in compliance—while building that AMAZING workplace!

More info for smart employers
https://www.nextavenue.org/ageism-in-workplace/