Age discrimination is something that every person will encounter, and that is why the fight against it is so important. Everyone will age, and with age comes invaluable experience that greatly benefits the business community. People leave their employers with an enormous amount of intellectual property in their heads. They possess a deep understanding of things that are essential to the company’s success. The organization loses a large chunk of capital when that knowledge is not valued, respected, captured, and shared. It is particularly important to be vigilant with ageism during COVID layoffs because it makes it easy to hide age discrimination. Furthermore, diversity and inclusion initiatives need to include ageism. Often, age inclusion isn’t a focus for most diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Despite abundant research that debunks the common myths about older workers, they’ve not been fully adopted. It is disappointing that our modern workplaces, with a new wave of HR leaders and employees, focused on valuing a diverse and inclusive workplace that ageism is alive and thriving. According to AARP:
- 1 in 5 US workers is 55 or older
- 64 percent of workers claim to have witnessed or experienced age discrimination
- 58 percent of adults believe age discrimination starts in their 50s
What are the common causes of age discrimination at work?
- Pay and compensation – to cut costs, companies will cut higher earners, which in many cases are older employees
- During the hiring process – companies prefer to hire the younger person at a fraction of the cost of the experienced professional
- Age-related biases – older employees aren’t as healthy, are less educated, less skillful, or worse, less productive
Fifty years have passed since Congress outlawed discrimination based on age, yet it remains a significant problem. Everyone knows age discrimination happens daily to workers in all kinds of jobs. Very few speak up when they are victims of ageism or if they witness age discrimination.
What are the signs of age discrimination at work?
Age discrimination goes unnoticed because it is so pervasive. However, older workers can take something benign and interpret it as ageism. Just because your company is forward-looking or actively pursuing diversity and inclusion doesn’t mean age discrimination isn’t prevalent. Conversely, just because something feels like ageism doesn’t make it so. Here are examples of what age discrimination might look like.
1. Your age is the substance of jokes or comments
Relentlessly and continually targeting your age by referring to you as “grandpa,” “mom or dad of the office,” or worse, “old man.” Comments like “take it easy and let a younger person handle it.” On a case-by-case basis, these moments of humor may seem harmless, but they aren’t. It creates a hostile work environment. These moments of humor make older workers feel excluded, which is the opposite of diversity and inclusion.
2. A pattern of hiring only younger employees
The pattern is particularly prevalent in tech companies but is not limited to that field. If you identify an age-related pattern of recruitment occurring in your workplace, it could signal age discrimination. Using the term “overqualified” could also indicate ageism. It is unlawful for an employer to exclude an older candidate assuming they would be bored or dissatisfied and leave for another job.
3. Being reassigned to less desirable responsibilities is a sign of age bias
Being moved to nonessential roles to make room for someone younger even though you have a solid performance history is a sign of age discrimination. Additionally, it signals your employer is trying to replace you. Or worse, they want you to quit.
4. Excluded, isolated, or left out
Have meetings suddenly dropped from your calendar? Exclusion from decision-making, being left out of meetings, or isolation from your team and department are all signs of age bias. The isolation and exclusion make it hard to contribute and be a valuable team member. Even worse, older workers left out of team happy hours and other social events are denied valuable networking opportunities crucial for advancement.
5. Overlooked for exciting and stretch assignments
Has your employer removed challenging projects from your plate and reassigned them to someone younger? You may have evidence of age discrimination in the workplace. When your employer lightens your load, you look less valuable and useful to the broader organization. As a result, you will feel frustrated and demoralized. This common tactic perpetuates the myth that older workers are incapable and less knowledgeable than their younger counterparts.
6. Sudden performance improvement plans
You have a solid history of strong performance. Your past reviews were stellar, and there is no history of poor performance or disciplinary issues. However, you walk into work one day and suddenly find yourself on an improvement plan. It is a strong sign your employer is looking for a legal way to fire you. That is to say, groundless performance plans are a form of age discrimination that goes unnoticed and unchallenged.
7. Learning opportunities go to the younger employees
Educational courses, tuition reimbursement, industry and trade conferences, and company-focused training opportunities should be available to all employees. When younger workers are automatically signed up but not the older ones, it is a sign of ageism in the workplace.
Age discrimination is wrong, and the motivation to practice it is based on false assumptions. You have rights when faced with workplace discrimination due to age, sex, ethnicity, religion, disability, or sexual orientation. Raise your hand to your HR department, or you can file a charge with the EEOC
Last updated on August 23rd, 2022 at 07:30 am
