Age Discrimination in the Workplace - Essay Example

 Age Discrimination in the Workplace Introduction: Overview/ Summary of the Articles In a journal article appearing in the issue of Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 11, that was titled A generation lost: The reality of age discrimination intoday’s hiring practices, Thomas Butler and Beth BerrettAttempt to try and expose the dilemma that is currently prevalent in the modern day workplace that has continue to see qualified employees being overlooked by their employers in favour of other younger applicants whose applications indicate that they have had a continuous history of employment albeit with less qualification for the position. After having weathered the global economic crisis, Butler &Berrett (2012) argue that the economy has continue to remain rather fragile and its eventual rebound is seen to not have occurred nearly as quickly as had originally been projected by analysts. Butler &Berrett (2012) point out that this has had the effect of causing the economy to experience relatively very little job growth and movement as the unemployed individuals continue to remain in an unemployed state for significantly longer time periods. In their article, Butler &Berrett (2012) argue that the American working force is progressively getting older and working for more years and the baby boomer generation is currently defying the age long tradition of working for about 30 years before going into retirement. These individuals are now preferring to continue with working well past their retirement age. According to Butler &Berrett (2012), data presented by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that there are currently over 142.6 million people in employment and that are aged 40 years and over. These individuals are seen to account for 46% of the U.S. population. In addition to this, the paper highlights the plight that is normally faced by the older generation in the workplace as a result of frequent discrimination and then goes on to propose a practical approach that potentially be used by human resource personnel and educators so as to ensure that all the various employee related decisions are seen to be handled in what is a consistent, ethical and fair manner. In their Ageism in the workplace article that appeared in theSpring 2007 editions of the Generations Journal, Helen Dennis and Kathryn Thomas start off by affirming that ageism is currently seen to be firmly entrenched as part of the main social fabric in American life. They argue that the practice of ageism is widely pervasive as is clearly evident across some of the different sectors such as education, media, healthcare and advertising. Dennis & Thomas (2007) point out that the workplace is in essence a microcosm of society and that it reflects the various biases and stereotypes that are prevalent in the country’s social environment. They argue that some of the effects of ageism in the workplace include the fact that age biases are now affecting a number of workplace decisions pertaining to termination, promotion, benefits, retirement and training opportunities. According to Dennis & Thomas (2007), there are essentially four types of ageism that have been identified; these are personal, institutional, intentional and unintentional ageism. In addition to examining ageism as presented in the country’s employment Act, Dennis & Thomas are also keen to analyse the prevalence of ageism as well as the barriers that are seen to be presented by Ageism. In addition to this, they also examine the measures that are currently being taken by employers in a bid to combat ageism and propose a number of recommendations that should be adopted if the rampant and rapidly growing ageism that is being experienced in the American society today and the workplace is eventually to be stemmed and possibly reversed. Implied/Factual Impact of the Main Issues Presented in the Article on Organizations According to Butler &Berrett (2012), advancement in medicine have now made it possible for people to live longer and it is currently estimated that the baby-boomer generation has fully benefited from these advancements as this generation accounts for about 77.3 million of the American population and enjoys the impressive life expectancy of 83 years. The high rate of older individuals that are still active in the workplace is thought to be responsible for the estimated over 16,585 complaints that were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission according to Dennis & Thomas (2007). This aspect is seen to greatly affect the population as has been noted that the baby boomer generation is in favour of remaining productive and continuing to contribute to the country’s economic base. In their journal article, Dennis & Thomas (2007), are note to be of the opinion that the most significant formal acknowledgement of ageism in the signing of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) by the former U.S. president Lydon B. Johnson back in 1967. The Act was primarily intended to promote the employment of older people based on their overall ability to perform their jobs as opposed to employing them based on their age.Butler &Berrett (2012), are noted to support the observations made by Dennis & Thomas (2007) as they point out that by design, the ADEA generally prohibits employers from any attempts to try and discriminate against any persons that are older than 40 years of age. They also note that the Act has been instrumental in eradicating the previous practice of age based advertising although the refusal by employers to hire older workers is seen to still remain a major concern in the modern day workplace environment. The ADEA is noted to have a significant impact on organizations as it lays legal ground for the prosecution of employers should they be found to be discriminating against aged employees in the workplace. Dennis & Thomas (2007) point out that since 1992,the highest amount of total monetary benefits that have ever been paid out as a result of charges brought against a company accusing them of age discrimination is $77.7 million and this amount was awarded in 2005. Whereas the older population is noted to have experienced a number of positive perceptions such as being their being valued for their knowledge, experience, attitudes, commitment to quality, work habits as well as their punctuality, general ability to keep cool when faced with a crisis and respect to authority Dennis & Thomas (2007), stress that there are indeed a number of negative perceptions that are noted to be still evident in the workplace. Some of these include the perception that older workers were generally inflexible, lacked the necessary aggressive spirit, were adverse to technological advances and as such were for the most part unwilling to adapt new technologies, they usually have some form of physical limitation and were for the most part generally resistant to new methods of performing their duties. This issue can negatively impact organizations as it can serve to negatively impact the work environment as discriminated employees will be discouraged and this might negatively affect the organization’s profitability. It is imperative that organizations move to discourage these negative perceptions and move to encourage both their younger and older employees to work together as a single unit and take advantage of the strengths that are offered by each group. At the end of their articles both Dennis & Thomas (2007) and Butler &Berrett (2012) present a number of recommendations that can be used to reduce the incidences of age discrimination in the workplace. Some of the recommended measures include the encouragement of age as being a significant component of the workplace in all the available diversity training, Dennis & Thomas (2007) also propose that a training guide on ageism should be developed for use by employers across the country. The guide will be used to these employers to educate both their management and staff members and equip them with the relevant knowledge on ageism that will be seen to go beyond the general knowledge of the law. Butler &Berrett (2012), stress that there is currently no place for age discrimination in any realm of employment relationship. Some of the recommendations that they make include calling for an urgent review of all hiring practices including online-applications and that organizations recognize that being old does not mean that a given employee is over-the-hill and that it is possible for the older employees to learn how to use technology given the right instructions. Conclusion: Text Comparison/Contrast The journal articles agree with the postulations made byNoe (2013), that job loss is especially traumatic for older workers who might find it to be especially difficult to find a job as a result of their age. According to Dennis & Thomas (2007) and Butler &Berrett (2012), this might be because of the fact that older individuals are generally discriminated against when it comes to being provided with an employment opportunity. Another important aspect that the articles are seen to agree withNoe (2013) is the observation is the observation made by Noe (2013) who notes that a large number of the potential retirees plan on eventually cutting back on work but not going into fulltime retirement. Noe (2013) cites an AARP/Roper Report and points out that according to this report, about 80% of the Baby Boomer generation are currently planning on working at least on a part-time basis once they hit the age of retirement. This observation is seen to be similar to that made by Butler &Berrett (2012) that the American population is now opting to retire at a later age. References Butler, T. H., & Berret, B. A. (2012). A generation lost: The reality of age discrimination in today’s hiring practices. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 11. Dennis, H., & Thomas, K. (2007).Ageism in the workplace. Generations, 31(1), 84-89. Noe, R. A. (2013). Employee training and development. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 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