AGEISM AND MISTREATMENT OF OLDER WORKERS: CURRENT REALITY, FUTURE SOLUTIONS

International Federation on Ageing 11th Global Conference on AgeingThursday, May 31, 2012,Prague, Czech Republic

Patricia Brownell, PhDAssociate Professor Emerita of Social Service, Fordham University and International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

Older People and the Formal Workplace

How can older people get and keep paid employment?

What can government and businesses do that would improve employment among older people and support an aging workforce?

Assumption: While not all older people choose to enter or remain in the workplace, a significant proportion do because of financial need, commitment to work, the meaning work gives to their lives.

Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002 An international ageing agenda to prepare for aging of the world’s

population Priority area 1, Issue 2: Older People and Development, Work and the

Ageing Labor Force Key points: Older people should be enabled to continue with income-generating

work for as long as they want and for as long as they are able to do so productively

Older people should be considered a resource in the paid workforce, because of their unique knowledge and skills

Older women workers are disadvantaged in later life because of lower salaries and interrupted work histories, so they should have additional protection for work in later life

Con’t Human resources management practices and policies should take into

account and address the specific needs of older workers through developing age friendly work environments and making accommodations for older workers;

Governments should support older people in starting their own business if paid work is no longer possible, through tax incentives and small business loans designed specifically for older people.

Governments should take older people into consideration when developing full employment policies and plans

Barriers to Older People remaining in the Paid Workforce

Age discrimination: coined by the late Dr. Robert Butler in 1968 to describe the systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against older people because they are old.

Personal ageism: ideas, attitudes, beliefs and practices on the part of individuals that are biased against older people because they are old. Example – exclusion or ignoring older people based on stereotypic assumptions.

Institutional ageism: missions, rules and practices that discriminate against people because they are old. Example – mandatory retirement.

Intentional ageism: carrying out practices that take advantage of the vulnerabilities of age. Example – denial of job training.

Unintentional ageism: ideas, attitudes, rules or practices that are carried out without the perpetrator’s awareness that they are biased. Example – lack of built-environment consideration like lighting, ramps; language used in the media.

Lack of Awareness in the Workplace of the Benefits of Maintaining an Aging workforce

A workplace environment reflects the beliefs, vision, and leadership style of top management

Organizational leaders influence workers’ commitment to their jobs and to their organization, worker satisfaction and productivity

The quality of the workplace environment is determined by the extent to which older workers are valued as contributors and are able to experience job satisfaction.

The climate and culture of organizations can create a workplace environment that is either supportive and satisfying for older workers or is inhospitable and hostile to them (Chernesky, 1998).

Workplace Policies and Practices that Discourage Older Workers from Continuing their Employment and Fail to Support Older Workers in the Intergenerational Workplace

Whenever there is a significant economic recession pressure may be placed on management to cut expenses and downsize the workforce. An obvious target for lay-offs and reductions is older workers who may earn higher wages due to longevity on the job and be perceived as higher risks for health care costs.

Older adults may be perceived as incapable of learning new technology skills and not be offered opportunities for training and skills upgrading.

Age discrimination laws may force older adult targets to prove that age was the decisive factor in demotion or layoff in favor of a younger employee, with the burden of proof placed with the older worker. EU labor laws have provisions for compensation based on pain and suffering; US and Canada do not have this provision as yet

Lack of Protection for Older Workers in the Workplace Most developing countries lack laws that protect older

workers Developed countries like the US and Canada have

legal protection, like the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in the US, but these laws provide limited protection.

There are limited requirements in the law for enhancements in the workplace (such as special lighting) to enable older workers to continue to be productive.

Remedies to Address Barriers to ensure Older Workers remain in the Workforce

Remedies cited in MIPAA to support an ageing workforce and aging workers include: National development programs should focus on

employment growth to benefit employees of all ages

National law should enable workers to continue to work for as long as they wish and are physically able (eliminating mandatory retirement)

Con’t Promote occupational health and safety to

maintain work ability of aging workers Provide access to technology and training for older

workers and provide flexible work scheduling and retirement options

Develop family and gender friendly work policies that provide flexibility in work schedules and allow for family care giving

Con’t Promote new approaches to retirement that

benefit both employers and employees such as implementation of flexible retirement policies and practices, reducing pressures and incentives for early retirement, and remove disincentives to working beyond retirement age

Con’t Promote a realistic understanding of older worker

s’ skills and abilities by addressing negative stereotypes about older workers or job candidates

Encourage the media and public and private sectors to avoid ageism in the workplace and present positive images of older workers

Con’t Promote new work arrangements and innovative

workplace practices intended to sustain working capacity and accommodating the needs of older workers, for example through Employee Assistance Programs. Example – counseling models for older worker experiencing discrimination and mistreatment in the workplace.

Some Additional Recommendations for Human Resource Departments to Keep Older Workers

Engaged and Committed

Alignment: Match older workers with the right assignment that plays to their expertise and creative thinking skills. Make sure older workers know their work makes a difference.

Freedom: Allow older workers the freedom to determine how best to complete their projects and allow them to approach problems in ways that will stretch their abilities.

Con’t Training: give older workers the same opportunity

for training and learning development in new technologies. Design training sessions that allow older workers to gain new technological skills in a self-paced manner.

Supervision: Provide older workers with supervision that is supportive, enabling and sensitive. Display a sensitivity to assist older workers who are dealing with difficult personal or family issues.

Con’t Supervisory Encouragement: Generously recognize

the unique efforts of older workers and encourage them to mentor younger and new workers by sharing their wisdom and experience.

Organizational Support: Implement appropriate systems and procedures to create a positive work environment. Provide flexible work options. Praise and provide incentives to remain in the workforce.

Limitations to MIPAA MIPAA is an example of “Soft Law”, is not binding

for countries that sign onto it As an international ageing agenda, it can guide

policy planning and policymaking; however there is no enforcement mechanism

The section of MIPAA under Ensuring Enabling Environments, focusing on elder abuse and neglect, does not recognize active ageing and assumes that abuse victims are care dependent.

Toward a Convention for the Human Rights of Older Persons

A binding international treaty could strengthen protections for older workers.

Expanding the conceptual framework for elder abuse and mistreatment to include the workplace as a potential site for mistreatment to occur could stimulate more research, policy change and practice interventions and raise consciousness about ageism in the workplace.

Older Workers and Human Rights The UN Principles for Human Rights of Older

Persons stresses the right to a life of dignity, free of abuse.

Older workers should have this basic human right protected in the workplace.

Recent and pending publications focus more attention on abuse of older workers as a form of ageism. This issue is coming up from under the radar as one of the last frontiers of discrimination.

Recent Publications on Topic Brownell, P. & Kelly, J. (Eds.) (In Publication). Ageism

and mistreatment of older workers: current reality, future solutions. New York: Springer.

Resnick, B., Gwyther, L. P., & Roberto, K. (Eds.) (2011). Resilience in aging: concepts, research, and outcomes. New York: Springer.

Walsh, C. A., D’Aoust, G. & Beamer, K. (2011). Bullying in different contexts. New York: Cambridge Press.

CONTACT INFORMATION

BROWNELL@FORDHAM.EDU