The workforce is changing.
Work patterns are changing. But are attitudes changing, or we
stuck with old stereotypes of who makes a good person to employ?
Age discrimination is one form of stereotyping
that inhibits good employment practices. It is a problem that
can affect anyone, at any stage of their career. Younger workers
sometimes feel that they are bullied at work, passed over for
promotion or excluded from staff schemes. Older workers believe
employers consider them to be ‘over the hill’ when it comes to
recruitment, training or promotion opportunities
The UK government has pledged
to outlaw age discrimination in the workplace by 2006. But it is
also concerned to win the battle for hearts and minds. The
Age Positive campaign seeks to recognise and influence the
attitudes and practices of both employers and their staff.
Integral to the campaign is the Department for Work and
Pensions’ (DWP) voluntary Code of Practice.
The Code, which has already
been issued to more than 75,000 employers and individuals in the
UK,
provides guidance on how to eliminate age discrimination by
addressing six phases of the employment cycle: recruitment,
selection, promotion, training and development and redundancy
and retirement.
The Cabinet Office report
Winning the Generation Game (2000) estimated that age
discrimination costs the UK economy around £16 billion per year
in lost GDP, and a further £3-5 billion in extra benefits and
lost taxes.
That report also highlighted
the need for employers to adopt flexible working options to
retain older workers. It said there needed to be a campaign to:
"promote the advantages of diversity and
flexibility in working practices through a group of champion
employers. In particular, such a campaign should promote good
practice in enabling workers to ‘downshift’ later in their
working lives rather than facing a ‘cliff edge’ of full-time
work or full retirement".
The concept of "Employer Champions" is embedded
in the Age Positive campaign. A growing list of companies are
pledging themselves to be positive about age, and have provided
statements and examples of good practices (available on the Age
Positive website). The campaign is also using artists and
celebrities to help make the point, as in the panel below.
Playwright Willy Russell
supports Age Positive
"It is often said that life imitates art. My characters
Rita (of Educating Rita) and Shirley Valentine - both have
hidden depths that are not immediately obvious to those
around them. These characters both overcome the kind of
negative stereotyping that most people experience at some
point in their lives. But while these characters are able
to prove their worth, the reality for many workers is that
this stereotyping has a lasting effect, particularly when
they are looking for employment.
The Age Positive campaign, which I wholeheartedly
support, is key in changing attitudes of employers and
individuals to employing people of all ages. The campaign
encourages a person to be judged on his or her skills and
ability and not the age he or she happens to be.
The value of a mixed age workforce cannot be
underestimated. The workplace should be made up of a
diverse mix of people and offer the opportunity for
workers of all ages to share their knowledge.
I encourage every individual and employer to embrace
the Age Positive campaign."
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