Name : Muhammed Dursun

Surname : Erdem
Student Number : 21705068

Case Study :

Increasing Age Diversity

in the Workplace
SUMMARY

This case is about increasing age diversity in the workplace which is the average age of the
workforce has continually increased as medical science continues to enhance longevity and
vitality fastest growing segment of the workplace is individual over the age of 55. Recent
medical research is exploding techniques that could extend human life to 100 years or more.

Unfortunately, an older worker faces a variety of discriminatory attitude in the work place.
Organizations can take steps to limit age discrimination and ensure that employees are treated
fairly regardless of age. Many of the techniques to limit age discrimination come down to
fundamentally sound management practices relevant for all employees. Such as set clear
expectation for performance: deal with problems directly, communicate with workers frequently
and follow clear policies and procedure consistently.

1. What changes in employment relationships are likely to occur as the population ages?

First off, employment relationships are legal relationship between employees and employers
according to the International Labor Organization (ILO). In order to find if there are any changes
in employment relationships as employees become older, we need to first be realistic and look at
the extreme sides of things.

In the first scenario, we have a society where age discrimination especially in the workplace is
extreme. So here, as employees get older and older, they become less and less valuable to their
companies and organizations. Employers are constantly looking for younger workers to replace
the older ones. This is because of the positive correlation between age and decline in work
performances, adaptation, flexibility and learning. The society views age as a disease. This is
extreme world; all parts of the employment relationship will change as employees get older and
older. Some of these changes include: drop in wages, lower respect, decreased value to the
company, less vacation days, smaller bonuses and social benefits, demotions, etc.

In the second scenario, we have a society where everybody understands that ‘relationships
between age and core task performance is essentially nil’. Age discrimination in the workforce
basically doesn’t exist. Instead of older employees getting less of everything in the employment
relationships, they become more valuable to their companies. Higher salaries, more promotions,
bonuses, social benefits, are many of the things in the employment relationship that are likely to
occur among older workforce population.

Realistically, all the things mentioned will likely change as any particular employee gets older.
In what direction are the changes and the degree of change will depend on the degree of age
discrimination that’s happening in that company or that organization. Since most companies and
organizations are both discriminatory and non-discriminatory towards age, some things in the
employment relationships will shift in one direction while others in another.
2. Do you think increasing age diversity will create new challenges for managers? What
types of challenges do you expect will be most profound?

Increasing age diversity will of course create new challenges for managers. An article written by
Shannon Gausepohl, a Business News Daily Associate Editor, talks about four key challenges
when it comes to age diversity in organizations. They are: Company Culture, Communication
Style, Negative Stereotypes and Cultural Expectations.

Company Culture:

Managers working in age diverse organizations tend to face problems will set the right
environment and rules for all employees. There are lots of differences in terms of the preferences
of employees in relation to their ages and how that affects the productivity of a certain group of
employees.

Communication Styles:

Shannon Gausepohl points out that the challenge in the workforce is making sure communication
between all parts of the organization go smoothly. Because the styles and preferences of older
and younger employees in terms of communication are generally different, it’s a challenge
managers will face.

Negative Stereotypes:

This problem is a two-way street. Younger employees tend to feel that the older ones are old-
fashioned, inflexible, and difficult to work with while older employees tend to feel that the
younger ones are ‘Lazy. Entitled. Tech obsessed. Overeager….’ (Gausepohl, 2016).

Cultural Expectations:

This challenge is more to do with the organization and not older workers. The textbook pointed
out research that shows no correlations between age and the ability to adapt to the fast-changing
cultural expectations in organizations like advance in technology. (Textbook, P.64).

We believe that cultural expectations will be most profound since it ties up with all the other
challenges like using stereotypical judgments to prove for not being able to learn or adapt to new
changes in organizations. Shannon Gausepohl not only pointed out the challenges but focuses his
article to solving these challenges and make sure organizations progress positively.
3. How can organizations cope with differences related to age discrimination in the
workplace?

Organizations operate differently each with different visions and objectives and different ways to
achieve those visions and objectives. Age discrimination, as mentioned above also influences all
organizations at different level. Depending on how much age discrimination influences the
productivity and growth the company, there are different ideas that should be taken into
considerations by managers when it comes to coping with age discrimination in the workplace.

If we look at organizations where age diversity is the norm, we should be able to notice a lot of
the things that those organizations are already doing to make sure young workers and old
workers get along with each other for the good of the organizations. Some example of those
things can be found in Gausepohl’s article like focusing on activities that all employees can be a
part of because increase those activities will help employees find common goals. (Gausepohl,
2016). The textbook identifies this as focusing on deep-level diversity rather than surface-level
diversity.

On the other hand, looking at organizations where employees are constantly looking for
innovative solutions to problems and tackling those problems with new processes and
technology, it’s hard to believe that there is not age discrimination. In fact, decision makers in
these organizations tend to lean toward younger people who they think will be more likely to
succeed in such environments.

In this case, older workers often face intense age discrimination and are under-valued. Managers
should be able to lookout for and identify such situations and help older workers with correctly
framing problems. This can help workers adapt to new changes that are happening in the
organizations. Managers should also provide and allocate tasks properly to ensure that everyone
in the organization know exactly what to do. Adequate training should also be provided equally
for all employees. The problem with age discrimination in such organizations is usually coming
from top management and that they are being discriminatory themselves. So, top management
need to set a proper example and lead the organization toward lesser aged discrimination.
4. what types of policies might lead to charges of age discrimination, and how can they be
changed to eliminate these problems?

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission talks and gives some examples
from The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). Basically the ‘ADEA
applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local governments.’

If managers for example include age preferences and limitations in job notices and
advertisements, it will be considered age discrimination. Sometimes, however, age limit can be
put in those notices and advertisements when age is necessary for normal operation in the
organization.

There are other laws that protect older employees like The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990
(OWBPA) for example. However, in many less-developed countries age discrimination is the norm in the
general population of the workforce. Managers should be reasonable in terms of understanding the
moralities (the rights and wrongs) and what to do to make sure age discrimination stays at a reasonable
degree. In developed countries, managers should get themselves familiar with all the rules and regulations
set by the government to make sure they follow those rules properly.

Conclusion

 It is clear that diversity has a profound effect in the workplace. While many studies have
been conducted, these studies show conflicting results, implying further research is
needed.

 Diversity in the workplace includes embracing differences among workers, which

include, but are not limited to, race, culture, gender, age, and differences in physical
abilities

 As the workforce continues to grow more diverse at a staggering rate, it is necessary for
organizations to embrace diversity.

 Although many organizations have increased their acceptance of diversity, it has yet to
fully garner a majority of support