Age Lessons Study Disproves Conventional Wisdom; Age Discrimination Impacts Young Workers More Often than Old, Men More than Women.Status Quo [Latin, The existing state of things at any given date.] Status quo ante bellum means the state of things before the war. The status quo to be preserved by a preliminary injunction is the last actual, peaceable, uncontested status which preceded the pending controversy. , Fear of Being Tagged A Problem or Victim Prompts Underreporting CHICAGO -- Contrary to conventional wisdom, younger workers [36% of 18-34 year olds] are more likely to say they experienced age discrimination than older, 35+ workers [24%] in a national online study from Age Lessons, the Boomer consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a , fielded by Harris Interactive Harris Interactive (NASDAQ: HPOL) is an American market research company that specializes in public opinion research using both telephone and surveys on online panels. The company is the product of a 1996 merger between the Gordon S. Black Company and Louis Harris & Associates. [R]. In follow-up phone interviews conducted by Age Lessons, 93% of respondents said they had "witnessed or experienced" ageism ageism Geriatrics A bias or belief that may be held by a health care provider that depression, forgetfulness, and other disorders are a normal part of aging and that older individuals will not benefit from treatment of mental disorders. Cf elderly. and were hesitant to report it for reasons including a perceived inability to change the status quo, fear of being labeled a problem or getting targeted for future layoffs. "Ageism isn't about old people, it's about all people. To avoid a 'war of the ages' in the workplace, companies need to address generational diversity across the age spectrum and develop strategies for leveraging the richness and value-add of a diverse workforce," noted Laurel Kennedy, Age Lessons president. Another unexpected finding: men [30%] were more likely than women [23%] to admit to a personal experience with age discrimination at work. Women may be more focused on issues of gender equality, or men may simply be more vocal about their experiences. Additional findings include: * Companies need to walk the talk. Younger workers told interviewers that older workers seemed to be "kicked to the curb" at a disproportionately high rate during layoffs. They also wondered aloud about how loyalty was being repaid by employers. Lesson for management: your employees are watching! * Mentoring is not a popular option. Fewer than five percent of employees selected "mentoring opportunities" as a possible benefit. Older interviewees felt mentoring was just corporate code for "picking their brains dry" and saw specialized knowledge as an excellent longevity strategy. * Dependent support/care options needed. More workers need help caring for new classes of dependents--elderly relatives who are outliving retirement savings, and adult children looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. subsidies from the "bank of Mom and Dad". Fully 22% of respondents picked long term care insurance and 20% health coverage for seniors or adult children as appealing benefit options. "Ageism, defined as bias based on age, is on its way to becoming the 'ism' of the 21st century, a social blight blight, general term for any sudden and severe plant disease or for the agent that causes it. The term is now applied chiefly to diseases caused by bacteria (e.g., bean blights and fire blight of fruit trees), viruses (e.g., soybean bud blight), fungi (e.g. equivalent to racism or sexism in the 20th century," added Kennedy. "Age discrimination is peaking at a time when 20% of the workforce is over the age of 50 and eyeballing retirement, while a projected labor shortage A Labor shortage is an economic condition in which there are insufficient qualified candidates (employees) to fill the market-place demands for employment at any price. This condition is sometimes referred to by Economists as "an insufficiency in the labor force. of three million people looms just years away." Methodology. The quantitative portion of the Age Lessons study "Ageism: Managing on the Bias" was conducted from February 20-22, 2007 by Harris Interactive[R], among 1,066 employed U.S. adult ages 18 and over. Results were weighted as needed as needed prn. See prn order. for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income and to adjust for respondent propensity to be online. Additional methodology details can be found on the Age Lessons web site. The qualitative portion of the study comprised 71 depth interviews conducted by Age Lessons consultants with managers representing major U.S. corporations. About Age Lessons Age Lessons is the pre-eminent pre·em·i·nent or pre-em·i·nent adj. Superior to or notable above all others; outstanding. See Synonyms at dominant, noted. [Middle English, from Latin prae Boomer think tank in the U.S., converting knowledge of the Baby Boomer baby boomer also ba·by-boom·er n. A member of a baby-boom generation. Noun 1. baby boomer - a member of the baby boom generation in the 1950s; "they expanded the schools for a generation of baby boomers" boomer cohort into business opportunities and policy recommendations for private and public sector clients. The company reports on Boomer needs, wants and values in five life areas: finance/money, wellness/body, values/spirit, career/work and social/play. For more information on the study, please visit www.agelessons.com. |
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