There are many misconceptions about older workers – perhaps you have heard some of them or maybe you even believe them. “They can’t learn new technology”, “they don’t like reporting to someone younger” and “they are too set in their ways” are just a few of the myths out there that put unnecessary barriers in front of valuable employees.
The truth is that our age does not define us, nor does our culture, religion or sexuality but either consciously or subconsciously the ‘category’ that we fall in somehow speaks louder than our skills, experiences, and behaviours.
If you are a valued worker in your company with the right behaviours, it would be a fair assumption that irrespective of age, your employer is interested in partnering with you for the long haul. Unfortunately, once you hit a certain age some employers will start to place unnecessary barriers in your way. There becomes a perception that there is ‘bottlenecking’ or a desire to bring in some ‘new blood’ or ‘harness up and coming talent’.
Developing young employees and ‘buying’ talent is a critical people strategy and should remain, however, they should not come at the expense of our older workers. Whilst many businesses don’t think they are guilty of a grey ceiling in the workplace, the data will tell a different story.
Many organisations fall guilty of an uneven playing field without consciously deciding to. The best way to counterbalance ageism is to have active strategies to engage, retain and develop older workers. Instead of questioning how many years before they retire, perhaps it would be more productive to think of new and interesting ways to leverage their unique set of skills and experiences as it is likely that these workers have already helped to shape the success of the business.
Finding work can be a challenging task, but it is even more difficult if the person recruiting has assumptions and biases about age. Older workers may feel that their experience will be the golden ticket to entering new employment, but many are finding that they are being overlooked and failing to secure interviews for jobs that they could do in their sleep. It is perplexing to someone who has the experience, capability and motivation to work why their age is seen as a barrier and not an advantage.
Many years ago, when employees joined an organisation for life - the hesitation may have made more sense as employers seek applicants with a broad range of skills and experiences. But these days the focus of recruitment and retention has changed, and employers are more interested in applicants that have breadth as well as depth of experience. Whilst loyalty remains critical, the risk of always ‘growing your own’ is that you miss out of the diversity of thought and experience from new team members.
The irony is that older workers are not only loyal, but they bring critical experience in a range of positions and industries. They have been around to see digital transformations; new approaches to work structures and were there to see the demise of the corner office. They have learnt that an ego has no place at work, but strong emotional intelligence will open doors. They understand the meaning of ‘rolling up their sleeves’ and place a strong value on work ethics. The years of experience in times of pressure translate to a calm head and a clear mind. These experiences make older workers amazing mentors and the kind of employee that you want on your team when the chips are down.
The recent skill shortage has helped some older workers find employment, but there is no question that some employers are still pre-empting recruitment decisions by deciding that the applicant is 'too old' for the job. The 'grey ceiling' is a term that describes the age discrimination that some older applicants face when seeking employment or promotion.
In Australia, under vairous pieces of state and federal legislation, it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of a number of protected attributes including age, disability, race, sex, intersex status, gender identity, and sexual orientation in certain areas of public life, including education and employment. Age discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favorably, or not given the same opportunities as others in a similar situation because they are considered to be too old or too young. The Age Discrimination Act 2004 (ADA) prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of age.
The ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of age when advertising jobs; during recruitment and selection processes; when making decisions about training, transfer, and promotion opportunities; and in the terms, conditions, and termination of employment. However, it should be noted that the employee must be able to fulfil the inherent requirements of the position; irrespective of age.
The truth is, most people have unconscious bias and are not intentionally trying to discriminate against older workers. Here are 5 things you can start doing to reduce the risk:
Read 'blind' resumes - Ask for resumes to be provided to you without names and personal data and limit all job history to the last 15 years. This strategy creates an equal playing field for older workers as it avoids a recruiter from quickly doing the maths when they read about a 1979 high school graduation.
Gather internal data - Take some time to analyse your recruitment data to see if there is a trend that you were not aware of. Is it a coincidence that every recruit in the last twelve months was under 40? Or do you need to dig a little deeper?
Interview with a diverse panel - It is recommended that all interviews have a diverse representation to remove the chance of any bias. A second perspective may challenge your thought process when you comment about looking to hire 'another young gun'.
Deliver unconscious bias training - Most people are unaware of their biases and yet we all have them. Invest in unconscious bias training for the leadership team and anyone responsible for making recruitment or promotion decisions.
Devise an inclusive strategy for older workers - Review your current work practices to see where older workers may be disadvantaged and put an inclusive strategy on the leadership agenda. Consider where older workers could be currently worse off and how their breadth and depth of experience could be better utilised and embraced.
There is an old saying that ‘you can't teach an old dog new tricks’, but maybe the person that devised that should have been more concerned about 'what the dog could teach them'. Making such assumptions is unwise and we each have a key role to play in eliminating ageism from our workplaces.
Some businesses feel that they can’t afford to ‘take the risk’ on an older worker – but the only risk is not tapping into their experience. We need to tackle our implicit bias and open our minds to the value that cognitive diversity brings to any workplace. Perhaps it's time to take an honest reflection of our work practices and approaches to recruitment that actively deny older workers pole position in the race to find work.
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Georgina is Senior HR Content Editor – Publications at Ai Group. She is an accomplished Human Resource professional with over 25 years of generalist and leadership experience in a broad range of industries including financial services, tourism, travel, government and agriculture. She has successfully advised and partnered with senior leaders to implement people and performance initiatives that align to business strategy. Georgina is committed to utilising her experience to create resources that educate and engage and is passionate about supporting members to optimise an inclusive workforce culture that drives performance.
