What Is Age Discrimination and How Businesses Can Avoid It

The United States is known to the world as the land of opportunity. It’s a place where anyone thinks they can find success there if they work hard, remain consistent, and practice a good work ethic to make it big. However, there are plenty of hurdles that prevent this dream from becoming a reality. For others, it may be the lack of opportunities itself, while for some, it may be something to do with age.

What Is Age Discrimination?

It may be strange to think that age discrimination is still a serious problem in 2021, but it’s a reality many older workers face. For those unfamiliar with the term, age discrimination is prejudiced behavior towards someone based on their age. In the context of a workforce, age discrimination is a hostile behavior towards employees aged 40 or older.

While such mistreatment goes about both ways, it’s undeniable that many older employees get subjected to such unfair treatment. This act could be more evident in industries where innovation is the norm, like in tech industries.

Discrimination of any kind only results in a strained relationship across the workforce and affects the team’s overall productivity. Moreover, having a neutral stance on age discrimination would only scare away older employees that can significantly contribute with their wealth of knowledge and experience.

These problems must be nipped in the bud before they grow into a full-blown HR crisis. So here are actions business owners can take to prevent discord from developing among employees.

How to Curb Age Discrimination in the Workplace

1. Inspect how the hiring process is done

Avoiding age discrimination starts in the beginning—the hiring process. Business owners and executives should tell the person in charge of reviewing applications not to reject applicants simply because their age is higher than the usual pool of applicants and the company’s average employee age. This change in the recruitment process gives experienced applicants a better chance of getting the final nod

Any job postings made should also be clear of any mentions of age. Remove qualifications that indicate an age range and the term “young” from the description to encourage a more diverse pool of applicants to reach out to your company. Removing the date of birth from application forms would also encourage managers to look at skills rather than age.

Finally, managers involved in the deliberation process must judge applicants based on their ability and experience for the role. If a manager is against a particular candidate because of their age or any issues related to it, remind them that stereotyping workers due to their age is discriminatory and may chase away potential employees that can contribute to the company.

2. Instill a company culture that welcomes diversity

It’s hard to expect employees of varying age groups to get along right away, but it’s essential to take measures to prevent any age-related tensions from happening. Changes and initiatives should start at the top.

Make it known among every employee that the company welcomes and pushes for a more diverse workforce. You can hold a company meeting that announces the shift in mentality, encouraging everyone to treat each other with respect. The announcement should give your staff time to acclimate to the changes and programs (if any).

Complement the mentality shift with policy changes that will enforce fairness towards everyone. These rules should make employees feel the importance of inclusivity in the company culture.

3. Hold discrimination and diversity training

One of the crucial steps companies can take to promote a healthy company culture is holding discrimination and diversity training. You can conduct the training regularly and include it in orientations to remind employees that any form of aggression towards their colleagues is frowned upon.

These talks will inform everyone how to stand up for themselves if they ever find themselves on the receiving end of such treatments. It will also hold potential offenders accountable for future offenses.

4. Ensure HR takes proactive action against age discrimination

When employees encounter discrimination regarding age, the human resource department must address the cases and hold people accountable for their poor behavior. The company’s HR should take any allegations seriously regardless of where the complaints come from.

Giving older employees the impression that the company is serious about their well-being and shaping a safe work environment will encourage them to stand up for their rights and feel belonging.

5. Reward employees based on performance

Fewer things can motivate employee productivity than promotions and raises. However, you can review the evaluation criteria to fit all employees to encourage everyone, including older employees, to participate and contribute to the company’s production.

Using promotions and pay raises is a great tool to use to foster camaraderie across different age groups. Promote employees based on their contributions instead of their years of tenure in the company. This provides an equal opportunity for everyone in the company to advance their careers.

6. Be careful with layoffs

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have had to cut down their numbers to keep operating costs manageable. If your company is at a similar crossroads, it would be easy to look at the senior employees and let them go first.

However, this is another instance where the company leadership must take a step back and consider the overall picture. Is the older employee being released because of their wages? Are they close to retirement age that it makes sense to retrench them?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, it’s recommended to rethink how to approach these layoffs. Their experience and knowledge will not be easy to replace. Moreover, finding an employee that can match what they offer is a challenging task.

Exhaust all possible options before greenlighting any downsizing. If the older employee brings a lot to the table, they are worth their keep.

In Conclusion

An issue as serious as age discrimination is not something that can be solved overnight. The percentage of older workers expected to keep on working is expected to rise within the next couple of decades. That’s why it’s important that you build a company culture that welcomes all employees.

Establishing your company as a fair workplace for employees of any age will attract top talent. These suggestions won’t solve every issue. Still, it should help foster a more accepting and diverse workplace for your company.