RetirementJobs.com published
a Research Paper entitled “Age Bias in the American Workplace: A “Fact
of Life” Enters Its Own Phased Retirement.” The study, the first of
its kind in five years, summarizes findings, and recommendations based on research
results from the company’s ongoing online survey of mindsets and practices
of employers and 50+workers related to real and perceived age-bias.
In its Research Paper, RetirementJobs.com has established the
first Age Bias Index©, to serve as a barometer by which developments in
the status and perceptions of age bias among employers, employees, and the general
population may be measured.
Key Findings and Conclusions of the Age Bias Research Paper
1) Employers are three times more likely (36%) to report that “age bias
is declining” compared to only 12% of workers
2) While 96% of workers believe age bias to be a problem, a smaller number,
77% of workers “actually have experienced or observed” workplace
age bias
3) With only 17% of employers believed to be making “a conscious effort
to attract workers 50 and over,” there is a significant opportunity for
progressive employers
to stand out in an increasingly tight labor market.”
Significance of the report
“For some time, age bias has been part of our culture,” says Marcie
Pitt-Catsouphes, co-director of the Boston College Center on Aging & Work/Workplace
Flexibility. “Therefore, it should come as no surprise that negative stereotypes
about age can be present at the workplace. The RetirementJobs.com index contributes
to our understanding of older workers’ experiences with age bias. The
RetirementJobs.com survey indicates that the incidence of reported age discrimination
is less than workers’ as well as employers’ perceptions of age bias
at the workplace. Furthermore, we are especially encouraged by the study’s
finding that a large proportion of employers believe that age bias is on the
decline.” In the paper, Bob Skladany, Director of Research at RetirementJobs.com
underscores why age bias may be on the wane, writing employers “know something
employees may not know: that long-predicted worker shortages are upon us, and
therefore employers must hire more workers age 50+.”
Employees and Employers Need One Another
“Workplace age bias is undergoing its own phased retirement,” says
Tim Driver, CEO of RetirementJobs.com. “Older employees are electing to
work longer than planned. Employers, meanwhile, increasingly understand the
merits of retaining and hiring workers that connect with customers, are dedicated,
turn over less often (than younger employees), and hold valuable lessons learned
from their prior careers.” The report cautions that a symbiotic worker/employer
relationship is “vital in healthcare, retail, customer services, sales,
financial services, the crafts and trades, engineering, skilled manufacturing,
the sciences, education and in government. These areas are already experiencing
a shortage of workers while also facing large numbers of retirements in the
next several years.”
“Age-Friendly”
Employers
To further address the talent
gap, RetirementJobs.com conducts an Age Friendly Employer Certification©
process to identify employers that maintain policies, practices and programs
consistent with employment of people age 50 and older are based solely on their
proficiency and contribution, and on terms and conditions comparable to younger
individuals. Some of the well-known employers that are currently listing jobs
on RetirementJobs.com include retailers (e.g. Borders Group, Macy’s and
Staples), Not-For-Profits (American Red Cross and Mass General Hospital ), and
services (Deloitte & Touche, H&R Block, and Hyatt).
Call to Action
With the “Assault
on Age Bias” initiative, and in the Paper’s Conclusion, RetirementJobs.com
calls for “increased research, education, and leadership to enable age
50+ workers to continue to fully participate and contribute to the economic
life of our society.” Calling on government, private employers, non-profits
and citizens to collaborate, Skladany writes: “Labor market demand, global
competitive realities, the aging of the U.S. workforce and the desire of older
workers to remain gainfully employed, compel our society to remove the barriers,
real and perceived, regarding age bias.”
Introduced through this
report, the RetirementJobs.com Age Bias Index has set a baseline by which to
measure and report on the scope and nature of workplace age bias, a factor strongly
indicative of our society’s tolerance and sensitivity toward our cultural
view of growing older.
RetirementJobs.com Workplace
Age Bias Index
The RetirementJobs.com Workplace Age Bias Index© has a single-minded purpose—to
provide a useful yardstick to track the issue of age bias in the midst of demographic
factors that will significantly impact the US economy in the next two decades:
? According to estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: By 2012, the number
of workers over 50 will increase 34 percent, while the number of younger workers
will increase by only 3 percent.
? “Throughout the Western world, the retirement of the Baby Boom generation
will create vacancies across industries.” (Source: Deloitte “It’s
2008: Do you know where your talent is?” 2/06)
The RetirementJobs.com Workplace
Age Bias Index focuses on how perceptions of age bias may influence behavior
of employers, workers, retirees, job seekers and enforcement organizations.
About RetirementJobs.com
As the #1 career website for job-seekers aged 50+, RetirementJobs.com provides
opportunity, inspiration, community and counsel to people over 50 seeking work
to match their lifestyle. Our powerful, easy-to use job board connects experienced
workers with thousands of jobs from age-Friendly certified employers. RetirementJobs.com
is a strong public advocate and a catalyst to help employers retain, hire, and
benefit from an experienced workforce.
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