MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY

IN WORKPLACE
AGE ISSUE IN
WORKPLACE
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Know the Know the roles of Know how to
01 importance of the old workers in 05 manage older
integrating Family 03
diversity workers in
life cycle with divesity
work
Know the roles of Know the
02 young employees 04 importance of
in diversity age diversity
INTRODUCTION
An organization comprises an array of
individuals with differences in age.
Employees themselves go through a stage
of their existence on entering the
marketplace young, maturing over the
years through work and experience and
eventually retiring as they enter old age.
Since the world’s population is ageing faster than
ever before, older workers might have to stay longer in
their organizations. Some countries have raised the
retirement age from 60 to 65 while it up to 67 in
advanced nations.
AGE-RELATED
ISSUES

*The old worker can be considered as one who

HEALTH is weakened by health ailments, age and relative
problems. Having spent more time at work than
others, the aged worker looks to be less effective.

*Evidently, young workers fall in the better side

CHANGE AND on being dynamic, innovative, forward-looking and
open to change while this might look less possible
INNOVATION for the older worker. Here again, there is a
perception of superiority or better adaptability to
changes.
AGE-RELATED
ISSUES
*In a situation of high unemployment, younger workers are
given better chances to come back to work compared with the older
RECRUITMENT ones. A majority of older workers get more time and effort to gain
their past positions or even accepting to work for lower wages.

*It can affect promotion in organizations. Some

AGE companies might favor younger managers to give an image
DISCRIMINATION of youthfulness to their business while older workers could
suffer from discrimination on not being given the
promotion.
 It states that age differences do
matter at work but there is a need to
overcome discrimination.

It is imperative to value and reward

the experience of the old worker while
believing in his excellent contribution
in today’s workplace diversity.
INTEGRATING FAMILY LIFE
CYCLE WITH WORK

Traditionally the life cycle, illustrated

a progression of stages through which
families passed; it comprised stages,
starting from bachelorhood, to married,
to family growth, to family contraction,
to post parenthood and to dissolution.
 STAGE
5:
DISSOLUTION

5 Basic Family Life

STAGE
Cycle Stages 4:
POST-
PARENTHOOD

STAGE STAGE
STAGE 3:
1:
BACHELORHOOD PARENTHOOD
2:
HONEYMOONER
S
 STAGE retirement
5:
DISSOLUTION from work

5 Basic Family Life

STAGE
Cycle Stages 4:
POST-
PARENTHOOD

STAGE STAGE
STAGE 3:
1:
BACHELORHOOD PARENTHOOD older workers
2:
HONEYMOONER
S having their own
children at work

Initial stage of Most important

ageing at work stage at work
Stage 1: Bachelorhood - Young single adult
(male/female) living apart from parents and into a
livelihood
Stage II: Honeymooners - Young Married couple
Stage III: Parenthood – Married couple with at least one
child living with them at home.
Stage IV: Post-Parenthood – An older married couple
with no children living at home. Children have left home
for studies or for employment
Stage V: Dissolution - One Surviving spouse
 CATEGORIES OF WORKERS

YOUNG MIDDLE-AGED OLD WORKERS

EMPLOYEES WORKERS
 YOUNG EMPLOYEES IN DIVERSITY
*According to Ouimet and Zarutskie (2013), young employees
in young firms earn on average higher wages than young
employees in older firms. Further, young employees
disproportionately join young firms with greater innovation
potential and that exhibit higher growth, conditional on survival.

These facts are consistent with the argument

that the skills, risk tolerance, and career dynamics
of young workers are contributing factors to their
disproportionate share of employment in young
firms.
YOUNG EMPLOYEES IN DIVERSITY
Hardy (2013) states that younger companies tend to
have workers with less time at the firm, which is partly an
effect of being new and hiring intensively in recent years.

KATIE BARDARO
(PayScale’s Lead Economist)

"The firms that are growing or innovating

around new areas tend to have younger workers
and older companies that aren't changing with
the times get older workers."
 MIDDLE-AGED WORKER
Express UK (2015)
-claims that by 2020 it is estimated that up to a third
of the nation’s workforce will be 50 or older so the more
skilled they are the better it will be for Britain’s economy.

According to Metlife,
-63% of adults aged 50 or over say they are
Another important
considering retraining so they can carry on working well component is the middle-
into what was previously retirement age. For many this aged worker which can
is because of the financial implications of giving up work comprise a substantial part of
but others want the stimulation of employment. the company.

*This will mean learning new skills to stay up to date in their current job and
stave off any forced early retirement. But for others it will mean learning
something completely new to continue in full or part time employment or start up
a business of their own.
 OLD WORKER IN DIVERSITY
-The most typical definition of “older” is “55 years and over”.
Some organizations think about ‘older’ as people in the last five
to ten years of their paid employment. Others do not think about
age, rather length of service.

*Organizations find it useful to define “older” in a way that is

relevant to them to help them monitor their workforce and carry
out workforce planning.

-Older workers are as varied in their aspirations, abilities

and availability as any other group of workers (EBO Trust, 2008).
The variations among older workers mean that they are unlikely
to respond in a uniform way to initiatives, options or strategies
that employers use to attract and retain older workers.
 IMPORTANCE OF AGE DIVERSITY
Age diversity improves It offers a variety of skill sets.
performance.

It can reduce employee It provides traditional

turnover. business skills.

It drives innovation. It offers a mentorship

platform.
 Age discrimination in
employment removes or
restricts the individual’s
freedom to exercise his right to
work.

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST OLD WORKERS

RA 10911 (Anti-Age
Discrimination in Employment
Act
In the USA, the law forbids discrimination
when it comes to any aspect of employment
(EEOC, 2014).
 Direct Discrimination
-These measures use specific age limits
to exclude older workers from, for
example, training and employment
schemes, or from applying for jobs.

TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION

Indirect Discrimination
-hidden discrimination which are
not directly age-specific.
THE VALUE OF OLD
WORKERS

Numerous studies have shown that older

workers are the most satisfied with their
jobs and the most engaged of all age
groups, which leads to higher levels of
presenteeism and productivity.
 THE VALUE OF OLD
WORKERS

They very often bring relevant

experiences, strong attention-to-
detail, and resilience built from
years on the job that their younger
peers may be less likely to offer
(James, 2013).
 THE VALUE OF OLD
WORKERS

The perception that older workers are being

discriminated against has a negative
outcome for the company for it generates
lower senses of engagement , as well to
younger employees.
THE VALUE OF OLD
WORKERS

Older workers are more than

up to the job, they often bring
unique skills and outlooks no
one else can offer.
 *There is a major shift in the workplace. For the first
time in history, businesses regularly are managing
workforces with four generations of employees.
MANAGING OLDER Generations in the workplace today
include::
WORKERS IN MILLENIALS (16-31) BABY BOOMERS (48-65)
DIVERSITY
GENERATION X (32-47) TRADITIONALISTS (65 & older)

Multigenerational workplaces can bring out the best-and worst-in

companies and their employees. Older workers can convey wisdom gained
from decades of experience. Younger ones have fresh ideas and technical
YOUNG MANAGERS IN
DIVERSITY
A poll by insurer Royal & Sun Alliance
has found that 14 per cent of young people
aged under 25 years old felt discriminated
against in the workplace because of their
age.
They felt their progression had been
hindered because they were perceived as
too young to take on extra responsibility
(Paton, 2006).
YOUNG MANAGERS IN DIVERSITY
Young managers might be competent in
their fields bringing the desired human
capital to their respective organizations.
With the latest qualifications and skills
required in the job market, they are capable
of shouldering key positions in business.

Here again, they might be subject to

discrimination probably because of their
lack of exposure to business realities, lack
of experience and possibly weak contacts
with older managers or board level
representatives.
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