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Discrimination

January 23, 2002

Age Bias is something that we all face in the Job Market. And it is something that we will likely have to deal with throughout out careers as we move from Job to Job. Most of the protection afforded by the legal system covers only the most egregious examples of age discrimination - and even then widespread discriminatory policies are required to prove intent. (HR-Guide discusses the issue in detail if you think your case merits legal action.)

Younger workers are often grouped together based on stereotypes, and mistreated accordingly. You may be accused of being disrespectful of the corporate culture, unable to concentrate for longer than thirty seconds, or unwilling to listen to others and join in working in a team environment. Older workers are suspects for other reasons: They are more likely to miss work due to illness, they can't learn new skills as quickly as younger workers (they're set in their ways), and their productivity levels are steadily declining.

These are tendencies that are at best misleading, and at worst, damaging to your career chances.

The sad fact is that workers are discriminated against from day one until they retire, so the real question is how do you overcome it in a pragmatic manner? First, by recognizing that stereotypes may be true for small classes of people, but are not valid to prejudge an individual. If you go into an Interview believing some of the myths about your particular age group, your Interviewer is likely to come away with those myths reinforced, rather than rebutted.

It is usually necessary for you to take the time to confront the bias that your age group faces, and confront it with assertive arguments to the contrary. If you lack experience, show how the experience you have is sufficient to do the Job satisfactorily, and that you have the desire and ambition to learn and improve. Temper your opinions with well-thought out ideas. If you think that you are looked down on because of your age, stress your experience, perspective, openness to new ideas, and willingness to mentor younger workers.

Studies indicate that a mix of age groups in the workplace increases productivity, which just goes to show you that it takes all kinds.