Should age matter at the workplace?

By CLYTIE BUNYAN
The Oklahoman
Monday, October 22, 2007

I was privileged to talk to a diverse group of women a couple weeks ago at a Women's International Network of Utility Professionals conference that came to Tulsa for three days of personal and professional enrichment.

One of them cornered me after I said women in positions of authority should encourage or mentor other young women in the workplace who exhibit promising managerial or leadership abilities.

That's OK, she said, but what about the Baby Boomers who are in their early to mid-50s, who still have a good 15 or 20 years before they're ready to retire?

The woman, who is in that age group, said she's not ready to retire and is beginning to get concerned about a trend among companies to focus on younger workers to the detriment of their older, more loyal workforce.

"It's a concern they should be looking at - an opportunity to keep the expertise as well as bring the young people along," she said.

Her concern is real. Many middle-aged workers may be supervisors or managers hoping to advance to the next level. Instead, they often end up training younger workers and make a lateral move while they watch the newcomers move up.

And age discrimination in the workplace also is very much alive. In fiscal 2006, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 16,548 complaints. The agency resolved 14,146 of those cases and recovered $51.5 million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals.

And that money doesn't even include benefits obtained through litigation.

But the practice continues.

A 2006-07 survey by Kelly Services and CareerBuilder.com found that 21 percent of workers 50 and older reported some type of discrimination or unfair treatment. That included being overlooked for promotions, not receiving credit for their work and not being given the same treatment as other workers.

The same study indicated a culture among employers of tolerating unfair treatment. Of the people who reported unfair treatment, 65 percent said the offender was not held accountable.

The utility professional from Ohio believes such trends are pushing many people into forced retirement. After all, she said, people are healthier, they're living longer and at 55 many are not even thinking about retirement.

Of course there are other reasons to support that.

Study after study says Americans aren't saving enough for retirement, so hundreds of thousands of Baby Boomers will be working past the typical retirement age of 65.

Then there are people who, through no fault of their own, found what they thought was a secure retirement through a pension fund that no longer exists, or their investments were lost in some of the corporate scandals earlier this decade.

My Ohio friend hopes to see more corporate willingness to embrace the notion that age does not matter, that companies consider anyone and everyone who has the credentials for management, and offer mentoring programs for all levels.