Results of Age Discrimination in the Workplace

The world of work has changed significantly over the past thirty years. No longer can a worker expect to hold the same job for their entire working career. This change in management philosophy has created real problems for older workers.

The 'Culture of Youth', an over-riding theme among media, universities and youth themselves for many years has matured into an integrated attitude among the business community that no business can compete if they employ older workers. This prejudice is evidenced in many of the hiring and employee retention programs among the largest US companies. The underlying motive for such discrimination is often short-term profit; the result is highly-dysfunctional organizations.

Most of us will never be privy to the conversations going on in boardrooms and executive offices. If we were, we probably wouldn't be terribly surprised as to some of the reasoning being bandied about for getting rid of older workers in favor of younger ones. Some appear obvious: younger workers will accept less pay and benefits than older experienced workers. The fact is, it may take two or three younger inexperienced workers to complete the job the older worker did every day-and accuracy rates will drop precipitously.

Another major factor, also economic, is that younger workers are perceived to be less costly in terms of medical care and time off work for chronic disease. Studies show, however, that younger workers take MORE sick leave than older workers. Health insurers discriminate against older workers and companies find they can cut their benefits costs by lowering the percentage of older workers in favor of younger workers. An aging spouse may be as big a factor as the employee's own health. Also, younger workers are likely to be satisfied with more 'wellness benefits' such as gym membership instead of comprehensive medical coverage-a cost savings.

Non-monetary attitudes are less easily explained. Second-tier management has become younger-much younger. 'Consultants' and vocal stockholders and board members have become convinced by the overwhelming opinion of media and business 'gurus' that younger management candidates possess some kind of magical skill set imparted as if by God only to new graduates. This is likely the result of journalists and social scientists blathering at great length about the upcoming generation being raised on computers and Information Technology from the cradle and possessing completely different and vastly superior mental abilities. Globally, business culture has become hostile to older workers.

Nothing is more ridiculous or disheartening than to have a sixty-eight year old vice-president telling a sixty year old thirty year employee that he is incapable of working in whatever new direction the company intends to go. The actual wording will be quite different, as the company y attorneys will have provided the correct wording to assure there will be no age-discrimination lawsuit, but the message is clear nonetheless. Often, the older senior officer simply transfers any doubts he has about his own technical acumen to every older worker in the company. Research on older workers shows, however, that older workers can become just as comfortable with new technology as can younger workers, although their learning curve may be a bit longer. The vast majority of technology-based changes on the average job are simply data entry on canned programs. If an older worker can operate a typewriter, he can most certainly learn to fill in the blanks on a screen. He will also have the experience and practical problem-solving skills in the field to identify and fix errors before they are replicated, something many younger workers cant seem to do.

The new middle-manager when hired often ignores older workers or assigns them less valuable work in favor of younger workers. The young manager either believes older workers incapable of learning new methods and new technology or believes them all to be on the edge of Alzheimer's. Thoroughly indoctrinated in the cult of 'genius youth', the new manager firmly believes he has superior powers and heretofore unforeseen abilities that can transform his department if only he didn't have to deal with 'old farts'. He will quickly blame the older worker for any short-comings within his management sphere, denigrate the older worker to younger employees and generally use the older worker as scapegoat for problems. Secretly, the young manager fears the experience and knowledge of older staff and sees them as a threat; he will have them removed from their positions-and therefore his realm- as soon as he can manufacture performance issues. In truth, older workers with their solid ethics and business principles make the younger managers feel guilty over their own business ethics -principles they never learned and that no longer fit in an attitude of situational ethics. Their discomfort is removed by getting rid of the older worker.

Older experienced workers have a sense of responsibility to the corporation and their part in it that many younger workers will never understand. Overly-blessed with personal self-esteem, young workers often feel they are working beneath their capacity and pay scale. Corporate well-being is therefore somewhere farther down their list of priorities than it is with older workers. When older workers find themselves demoted and given poor performance reviews even though they have been completing the majority of the departments work, it is with the intent to force them to resign. If they do, they soon find out most companies suffer from the same disease of discrimination and finding other work is hard.

All of the above is illegal discrimination. It is difficult to prove however. Complaints of age discrimination have risen sharply in the past fifteen years. So has corporate spending on attorneys and consultants hired to keep them out of court on technicalities. The only justice being served here is within those corporations who lament the fact that their employees no longer show and loyalty to the company. Somehow, these people cannot figure out that loyalty-and the employer/employee relationship- will always be a two-way street.

Ideally, there should be business climates that value the experience and work ethic of older workers. It's a sad fact, however, that venture capital is one of the perpetrators of the cult of youth. Business models that make use of older experienced workers will have a difficult time obtaining funding if they persist in such outmoded thinking. Meanwhile, American competitiveness makes a poor showing in the global marketplace. How much of this is because they continue to perpetuate the 'cult of youth' model that is proving unworkable?