Submitted by Guest Blogger Patrice G.
Unfortunately, retiring at 55 or 65 years of age has become unrealistic for most workers. Therefore, it is not uncommon these days to see people working well into their 70's and 80's, because of the horrible economic status of most Americans.
But what should not be common is Ageism, however, the statements listed below are widely used when younger employees voice their opinions on veteran employees:
- Rigid and stuck in their ways.
- Poor or failing health. Medical issues impact attendance and productivity.
- Afraid of new technologies.
- Slower to learn new concepts. Slow to change.
- Years of highly developed opinions; unwillingness to hear new ideas.
- Expensive. They demand higher wages.
- Poor investment because they won’t be staying with the company for long enough to get a return on investment with their training.
- Physically slow moving. Low energy. Unable to sustain long hours if required.
- Risk adverse.
What would you propose to help lessen or end the Ageism (language of oppression) towards the more veteran employees?
read the entire article here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneywisewomen/2011/03/02/age-discrimination-in-the-workplace-is-it-ageism-or-your-attitude/
Patrice, I definitely find all of those statements oppressive. My grandfather, who is retired and in his early 70's, has recently decided to try to find work again, however because of ageism taking place in our society he is having a hard time. He is a hard working man who just wants to keep himself busy. He is willing to work for little pay and he is a very open minded person. I understand that not all people in their 70's are as healthy as my grandfather but to stereytype all 'elderly' people is wrong. I think people must concider that in the future they may want to/ need to keep working into thier 70's even 80's, therefore why discriminate against people of the older generation today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my Patrice, my mother will be 62, in a week. She has been her own boss for over 20 years. She wanted to make some extra money on the side and decided to work for Amtrak Metra Train Station. She applied for the job clerk at the front desk. My mother has a history of experience in that area. When she turned in her resume with her age description at the top. Without hesitation they told her she was too old for the position and wasn't sure if she could keep up. All of the terms above are oppressive, and I started to write a letter to their bosses boss about the innocent with my mother, but she told me it was ok. If I live to see 70 or 80 years old, still working and moving around, I would hope that the youngster following behind me would treat me with the same respect as anyone one else, and jobs should not discriminate against, AGE, race or gender etc anyway.
ReplyDeleteThis is a particularly interesting article - if only for providing a small list of common beliefs to discuss.
ReplyDeleteI define ageism as a large problem, especially in my own classroom. There are tensions between traditional and returning students, and those tensions cause conflict.