Everyone knows that the older you are, the more discrimination you face at work. That could come in the form of jokes and comments, designed to poke fun at your age or appearance or be full-blown discriminatory practices in the workplace.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act is aimed at protecting people 40 years of age and over from any form of discrimination regarding hiring, salary, duties, and termination of employment.
If you’re concerned about ageism in your workplace, follow these five simple steps below to prevent it from happening:
1. Embrace Diversity
It is now more crucial than ever for companies to focus on inclusivity and diversity programs and procedures in the workplace. These two buzzwords are more than just about talking the talk; your business must walk the walk.
A truly diverse and inclusive company can be one of the most productive and satisfying places in the world – and it is no surprise that workplace diversity is a reliable indicator of success and innovation.
2. Performance Rewards
Instead of tenure-based rewards, implement a performance-based award system. Rewards, promotions, increases, and bonuses should all be based on measurable performance metrics rather than simply how long an employee has worked for your company.
That is key to achieving balance and wellbeing in life.
Rewards and incentives should be awarded based on being the most valuable employees, not based on age or age-related metrics.
3. Managed Hiring Processes
Accidental discrimination can be just as harmful as purposeful discrimination.
Your hiring process needs to be audited for both accidental and purposeful errors. These can include things like advertising in the wrong place, using discriminatory language, and making applicants list their birth dates on forms.
Focus on combatting ageism in the workplace by implementing a fair hiring process.
When interviewing potential candidates, avoid asking age-related questions that may inadvertently force the applicant to give information or details that make them feel uncomfortable about their age.
4. Avoid Stereotypes
Never encourage people to engage in labeling or euphemisms. Labels may help others to define people, but they are rude and often insulting. Seemingly innocent nicknames or stereotypical adjectives or descriptors can make someone uncomfortable and embarrassed.
When everyone has a legal right to feel safe at work, these stereotypes can be dangerous to your company. Biases, whether conscious or not, must be removed because they damage the company’s culture.
5. Implement Better Policies
Never assume that your employees will understand that it is wrong to discriminate against their colleagues for any reason, including their age.
By drafting and implementing clear and comprehensive policies in the workplace that adopt a zero-tolerance policy to unfair treatment based on age, you can prevent ageism at work.
Ensure that managers and senior supervisors consistently enforce those policies and get their team members to understand every one of them.
To End
If your company doesn’t follow these guidelines already, it is time to make changes. The reality is that all companies need to promote diversity in all areas, including age diversity.
If they do not, they will miss out on the expanding talent pool of highly qualified and experienced individuals.