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Radhika Panjwani is a former journalist from Toronto and a blogger.
Organizations currently have five generations of workers in the workplace, but evidence from research shows older workers are denied promotions, access to training and new job opportunities owing to widespread ageism.
And when employers address this issue, it can have major benefits inside and outside the workplace, experts say.
When Ellie Berger, an associate professor at Nipissing University and author of, Ageism at Work talked to older workers [55 and above] across Canada, she witnessed a less-than-flattering glimpse of deep-seated ideologies and stereotypes in the workplace.
“I discovered ageism is very much at play in the work force,” Prof. Berger said. “Employers told me individuals over 45 and particularly those over the age of 55 must be ‘exceptional’ in order to be hired. The most powerful finding for me however had to do with participants [of a survey] explaining that once they were labelled ‘old,’ they felt degraded and cast aside. One person told me, ‘I feel like an old shoe that’s of no use any more.’”
The prevailing notion in the organizations was older workers are not adept at technology, are inflexible and lack productivity. Some employers admitted to being leery of the financial costs of being stuck with older workers because of the elimination of mandatory retirement in Canada, Prof. Berger said.
The hiring biases
When it came to seeking new opportunities, companies rejected resumes from older applicants, often in the guise that they were overqualified for the role or that they would not fit in a fast-paced organizational culture. Worse, during the interview, employers admitted to scrutinizing older candidates’ health and appearance. One employer told Prof. Berger they automatically disqualified anyone who looked “creaky and shaky.”
“Ageism [in society] is deeply ingrained through stereotypes taught and observed at young ages through peers, children’s books and the media,” Prof. Berger said. “These stereotypes about old people being senile, infirm and non-productive members of society are then reflected in everyday actions which include the workplace.”
A post from job site Indeed says ageism can appear in two forms in the workplace. One, when colleagues at a workplace harbour less than favourable attitudes toward older colleagues. Second, some work cultures through behaviours and action may disproportionately favour younger individuals. For instance, companies will pepper their job ads with words such as “flexible, energetic, dynamic and agile” as a subtle way of saying they want younger candidates.
Grey discrimination
A Statistics Canada report notes more than one in five (21.8 per cent) persons of working age are between 55 to 64 years old and close to retirement. This represents an “all-time high in the history of Canadian censuses,” and one of the reasons for labour shortages in health care, trucking, agriculture, manufacturing and other sectors.
From 2016 to 2021, the number of persons aged 65 and older rose 18.3 per cent to 7 million, signalling the second-largest increase in 75 years. The largest spike occurred from 2011 to 2016 when the increase was more than 20 per cent, Stats Canada reports. The report adds the ratio of younger workers (25 to 34) to older workers (55 and over) has dropped over the last two decades. Over all, there are currently about the same number of younger and older workers. Nevertheless, the share of older workers has increased for almost all occupations.
Ageism in intergenerational workplace
Martine Lagacé, a researcher at University of Ottawa, along with Lise Van de Beeck and Najat Firzly, published Building on Intergenerational Climate to Counter Ageism in the Workplace? A Cross-Organizational Study, using the Intergroup Contact Theory (ICT) first introduced by Gordon Allport, a psychologist in 1954. The theory had not been tested with relation to age in Canada until the researchers took it on.
Mr. Allport’s psychological theory submits direct contact between members of different social or cultural groups can lessen prejudice, improve intergroup relations and foster mutual understanding.
“We tested [the modelling] with different samples of Canadian workers from public and private sector and each time the model reveals intergenerational connections in the workplace has benefits in terms of how younger workers see older workers and older workers see their younger colleagues as well as themselves,” explained Prof. Lagacé.
Knowledge-sharing practices between older and younger workers resulted in positive attitudes about older workers leading to higher levels of work engagement and stronger intentions to remain with the organization, she said.
In a separate study of older health care workers in Canada that Prof. Lagacé undertook, she found ageist attitudes by both employers and colleagues, lead to “psychological disengagement from the workplace,” which in turn, negatively affects self-esteem.
“Ageism is prevalent in society at large and the workplace is a microcosm of society,” Prof. Lagacé noted. “Older workers told us when they constantly receive ageist messages, they start internalizing the messages and believe they have lost their place, their voice and their space in the company.”
What I’m reading around the web
- The power dynamics between a boss and employee can be challenging if an employee disagrees with their supervisor. This article on Forbes lists ways to present your case, for example, lean on data and pay attention to cues.
- Netflix has waded into controversy after a job posting for an artificial intelligence expert who could potentially earn US$900,000 per year. As the BBC reports, the posting comes as Hollywood unions are striking over concerns of AI replacing jobs.
- Recently, McGill University professor David Plant and a team set a world record for the speediest data transmission limits when they achieved a 1.6 Terabits per second data transmission over a distance of 10 kilometres. For perspective, this is about 1,000 times faster than common household internet speeds.
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