DIVERSITY
LS : We commission research into this exact topic last year to examine workplace ageism and found that in relation to recruitment , the key barriers were :
• 65 % of employees feel the jobs market is closed to them applying for roles over the age of 55 and they are right , as only 30 % of employers were motivated to hire in this age category .
• Dated stereotypes about health and energy were also prevalent with 37 % of employers citing they wouldn ’ t hire an older worker through fear of them getting ill . 21 % of employers thought they lacked energy . can also be an issue . But this may not necessarily be the case as older workers may be happy to accept the salary for the position itself , rather than going in with an idea of what level of pay they should be at .
Is there an imbalance with older employees tending to be in more senior positions ? Is that a problem ? CH : There is an imbalance . But that is not an entirely bad thing . After all , it ' s often easier to play a senior role when you can lean on the experience , social acumen and other strengths that come with ageing .
• Worryingly , the major new evidence our study uncovered was that the most biased function and biggest blocker to hiring older workers was the HR & Recruitment function . The individual age of the person in the hiring position in this function created massive bias – if the recruitment / HR lead was aged 46-50 , 63 % of them were very motivated to hire older workers . If the recruitment / HR lead was aged 25-30 , then only 24 % of them were keen to hire this age group , creating a 39 % swing on attitudes to hiring older workers simply on the age of the person doing the hiring .
RL : Ageism is the main barrier . Older workers are often seen as not so valuable . Their experience may be dismissed in favour of younger workers . There are so many preconceived ideas and misconceptions about older people , which are often made worse by the media and society at large . It is difficult for older workers to be seen for who they actually are , given all the negative stereotypes about older people in general . Anticipated higher wages for older people
92 October 2022