By Steve Butler, CEO at Punter Southall Aspire
The findings from a YouGov poll on age discrimination in the workplace, commissioned by the Centre for Ageing Better, revealed that two-fifths of more than 1,100 employees over the age of 50 think their age would put them at a disadvantage when applying for a job, and some 27% have actually been put off applying for jobs since turning fifty, believing the job description was aimed at younger candidates.
Many employees feel let down by their bosses and prevailing working practices as a direct consequence of their age. A third feel they have had fewer opportunities for training and progression as they have got older; almost as many don’t feel that their workplace values older workers.
The inevitable conclusion? That a significant number of UK employers don’t have policies in place that encourage older people to work for them. This starts with building an inclusive culture for all ages and tackling age unconscious bias.
Imperial College London[i] describes unconscious (or implicit) bias as the associations and assumptions that people hold that are outside of their conscious awareness and control. It’s triggered by the brain automatically making quick judgments and assessments.
Age unconscious bias is a major challenge for organisations to overcome as they exist in an ageist society which it’s difficult to escape from. It’s everywhere – in language, in newspapers and on TV and in the way older people are treated in society.
In the workplace it plays out through stereotypes. It’s easy to stereotype an older worker as being no good with technology, not wanting to be involved in training or not being ambitious.
Equally a younger worker may feel they don’t get the respect they deserve and struggle to connect with older workers as people assume they lack experience and knowledge. These assumptions are rife in the workplace and can impact individuals and shape their behaviour.
Unfortunately, this makes it hard for firms to deal with it and most are just ignoring age discrimination. One of the issues is because of its intersection with other aspects of diversity and inclusion it often means it’s not considered a standalone issue.
But by failing to recognise it, firms end up losing older workers and this can have a big impact on the business, and on the younger generations that need to learn from older colleagues.
The challenges
Companies will often choose older workers to make redundant if they want to save money as they are the high earners, forgetting they are also the ones with the most knowledge. This is not great for the individual as they want to end their career on a high, but equally it’s no good for the organisation as they lose experienced workers.
At a time when UK firms are struggling to recruit talent holding on to older workers makes good business sense. Recent analysis by over-50s digital community, Rest Less highlights that more than 700,000 Britons over the age of 50 have left the workforce since the pandemic hit[ii]. But a recent Office for National Statistics survey with people aged 50 to 65 who are not working found that two fifths would consider returning to the workforce[iii].
Changing demographics are adding to the challenges. By 2025, there will be one million more people aged 50 and over and 300,000 fewer people 30 and under in the workplace[iv]. Today, 19% of the population is aged 65 and over. In the next decade this will have increased to 22%[v].
Shifting demographics, combined with people leaving the workplace early, is resulting in a real talent squeeze as there are fewer people joining the workforce from a smaller demographic at the younger end of the workforce.
A consequence of this is less older workers to support and mentor younger workers to help them hone their skills and learn the job. This could impact future talent pipelines as there are lots of skills that are not so tangible and firms need people, not online courses, to teach those.
Addressing age unconscious bias is therefore vital for firms as they navigate changing demographics to ensure they have a talented, diverse, and skilful workforce.
The solutions
Overcoming age unconscious bias is about calling it out and talking about it. Employers need to normalise the conversations around age, and, as with other areas of diversity and inclusion, they must put themselves in the shoes of the individual.
This means understanding what it is like to be a younger and an older worker in their organisation. Once they do this, they can work out how to get the best out of their people no matter what stage they are in their career.
One of the first steps is to add age to diversity and inclusion processes and always look through an age lens. For instance, ensure recruitment adverts don’t discriminate and appeal just to younger workers. If an organisation wants to recruit someone because of their communication skills and experience, they don’t want to limit the talent pool and put off older workers applying.
If someone older sees an advert and the language is clearly directed to a younger individual, they are immediately switched off and won’t apply. Also, at interview stage if the panel is a group of very young individuals talking about a very modern workplace, then they may be put off accepting the job if they get offered it.
Firms also need to be more flexible with opportunities such as making job-sharing and condensed hours more readily available. Older workers often have family and caring responsibilities so looking at ways to keep them in the workplace longer through more flexible working options is key.
Training is an area where age unconscious bias often exists. Budgets are usually skewed towards the younger generations, but older people want to learn too. As people are working longer, they need to re-skill and re-train.
By offering training and development opportunities to older workers firms can keep them in the workforce longer and reduce having to recruit and train new people which is often more costly.
Opening up channels of communication between the different age groups in the organisation is important too, otherwise conflict can arise. Research suggests that multi-generational workforces are more innovative and productive. Firms need to work out how to get the best out of different age groups.
For instance, older workers in my firm have more experience in managing client relationships, handling difficult conversations and delivering services to clients. Younger colleagues are able to challenge the way we work, they come with new ideas about the way that we should work and how we deliver work to clients. By getting the two groups to work together, clients are offered a much better service.
Conclusion
Most firms aren’t yet having conversations around older workers, but this is short-sighted. There is a huge opportunity to turn changing demographics into something positive for their business and to embrace the different skills, experiences and attitudes of each generation. Addressing age unconscious bias is key.
Steve recently shared his perspective on age unconscious bias in a new documentary from the Chartered Management Institute entitled, ‘Workplace in Review: Age’.
[i] https://www.imperial.ac.uk/equality/resources/unconscious-bias/#:~:text=Unconscious%20(or%20implicit)%20bias%20is,making%20quick%20judgments%20and%20assessments.
[ii] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/10/17/700000-over-50s-quit-work-since-pandemic/
[iii] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/reasonsforworkersagedover50yearsleavingemploymentsincethestartofthecoronaviruspandemic/wave2
[iv] https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/news/how-support-your-older-workers
[v] https://ageing-better.org.uk/summary-state-ageing-2022#:~:text=The%20State%20of%20Ageing%20in,or%2022%25%20of%20the%20population.
Steve Butler is the author of four books on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, all of which can be found here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steve-Butler/e/B07YCDY3HG%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
