Ageism is often seen as exclusively about protecting older people. However, "age" is a protected characteristic in UK law, and means any age.
People often use "ageism" to rail against statements such as "Ok, Boomer" - but "Ok, Boomer" relates to a mindset - the mindset that says "the way I do things is the best way!", "people don't have a right to be themselves - they have to fit in, because that's what I did!", "I should be prioritised in every single situation!" People of any age can have this "Boomer Mindset", while, equally, people of the "Baby Boom" generation can be very open-minded, very engaged with technology and change, and very enthusiastic about emerging trends.
If you don't want to be referred to as a "Boomer", all you need to do is change your mindset.
In contrast, millennials and Gen Z can't escape accusations of "laziness", "snowflakery", or sneers about "wokeness", no matter how hard they work, how willing they are to engage with discourse around views they strongly disagree with. Younger workers are routinely dismissed by colleagues with statements such as "I've worked in this sector longer than you've been alive!" - this is exclusionary behaviour, because people cannot change how long they have been alive. They can change toxic attitudes they are being criticised for, they can attempt to engage with change, with required technology, and with novel concepts. They can simply keep their views on trans people, disability in younger people, and peoples' emerging preferences around work to themselves - therefore criticism of those things is not "prejudice."
Very recently, the UK government has altered the National Minimum Wage, to grant the same pay to all ages; this has historically not been the case, with younger workers, who are doing the same jobs as their older peers, being paid less.
It is still the case for UK welfare recipients, with those under 25 receiving less per month than those over 25, even if they are not being supported by family. It is intended by the UK government that this ageism will be exacerbated, by shutting out those under 22 from accessing financial support for disability.
Those under 22 can be homeless.
They can have children of their own.
They can be kinship carers for older family members.
Ignoring circumstances, and defaulting to an arbitrary age, is ageism. It is discrimination. It is exclusionary.
In business, avoiding ageism can seem complicated, but is actually fairly straightforward:
. Instead of lensing things, through job ad language, towards younger people because your business relies on strong tech skills and an openness to change, use interviews to assess these skills and mindsets. Not all young people are tech savvy and open minded, while some older people are.
. Rather than having a mandatory retirement age, have annual core competency assessments, with an understanding that anyone failing the core competency assessment will have six months to improve, or will need to leave the business. This also means you are on top of low performers, and those in need of additional support, across your organisation, which helps you refine and refocus for maximal efficiency, rather than risking poor performance and struggling team members building to a point where it undermines the business.
. Again, rather than insisting on mandatory retirement, simply state that people cannot continue to work in a paid capacity if they are also claiming the State Pension, but open the opportunity for those receiving the State Pension to hold consultancy positions, where they are compensated by gift cards/vouchers. The UK State Pension can be deferred, so, if someone who would be eligible by age to claim their State Pension would prefer to remain employed, and is competent to remain in their position, they can simply not claim their pension when they become eligible, and it will automatically be deferred until they choose to claim it. Deferring the State Pension will also increase the Pension payments received, which may be preferred by individuals.
If you're interested in exploring age inclusion, or full-spectrum inclusion, more fully, we can help.
Drop us an email: theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
People often use "ageism" to rail against statements such as "Ok, Boomer" - but "Ok, Boomer" relates to a mindset - the mindset that says "the way I do things is the best way!", "people don't have a right to be themselves - they have to fit in, because that's what I did!", "I should be prioritised in every single situation!" People of any age can have this "Boomer Mindset", while, equally, people of the "Baby Boom" generation can be very open-minded, very engaged with technology and change, and very enthusiastic about emerging trends.
If you don't want to be referred to as a "Boomer", all you need to do is change your mindset.
In contrast, millennials and Gen Z can't escape accusations of "laziness", "snowflakery", or sneers about "wokeness", no matter how hard they work, how willing they are to engage with discourse around views they strongly disagree with. Younger workers are routinely dismissed by colleagues with statements such as "I've worked in this sector longer than you've been alive!" - this is exclusionary behaviour, because people cannot change how long they have been alive. They can change toxic attitudes they are being criticised for, they can attempt to engage with change, with required technology, and with novel concepts. They can simply keep their views on trans people, disability in younger people, and peoples' emerging preferences around work to themselves - therefore criticism of those things is not "prejudice."
Very recently, the UK government has altered the National Minimum Wage, to grant the same pay to all ages; this has historically not been the case, with younger workers, who are doing the same jobs as their older peers, being paid less.
It is still the case for UK welfare recipients, with those under 25 receiving less per month than those over 25, even if they are not being supported by family. It is intended by the UK government that this ageism will be exacerbated, by shutting out those under 22 from accessing financial support for disability.
Those under 22 can be homeless.
They can have children of their own.
They can be kinship carers for older family members.
Ignoring circumstances, and defaulting to an arbitrary age, is ageism. It is discrimination. It is exclusionary.
In business, avoiding ageism can seem complicated, but is actually fairly straightforward:
. Instead of lensing things, through job ad language, towards younger people because your business relies on strong tech skills and an openness to change, use interviews to assess these skills and mindsets. Not all young people are tech savvy and open minded, while some older people are.
. Rather than having a mandatory retirement age, have annual core competency assessments, with an understanding that anyone failing the core competency assessment will have six months to improve, or will need to leave the business. This also means you are on top of low performers, and those in need of additional support, across your organisation, which helps you refine and refocus for maximal efficiency, rather than risking poor performance and struggling team members building to a point where it undermines the business.
. Again, rather than insisting on mandatory retirement, simply state that people cannot continue to work in a paid capacity if they are also claiming the State Pension, but open the opportunity for those receiving the State Pension to hold consultancy positions, where they are compensated by gift cards/vouchers. The UK State Pension can be deferred, so, if someone who would be eligible by age to claim their State Pension would prefer to remain employed, and is competent to remain in their position, they can simply not claim their pension when they become eligible, and it will automatically be deferred until they choose to claim it. Deferring the State Pension will also increase the Pension payments received, which may be preferred by individuals.
If you're interested in exploring age inclusion, or full-spectrum inclusion, more fully, we can help.
Drop us an email: theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
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