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What is Business Gerontology?
The official study of Gerontology, the study of aging,
was introduced at the University of Southern California during
the 1970s to address the basic psychological, safety and security
needs of older adults. It influences product design, marketing
and services that service older people. Out of this initial
effort, Gerontology evolved to include the conflict
between business productivity and social responsibility.
Business Gerontology is a newly defined social
science and academic discipline that addresses economic, organizational
and physical issues of the workplace and marketplace. While
concentrating on the latter part of work life, it includes
the time 40+, when age becomes an issue in the workplace,
both pre- and post-retirement age. It generally touches a
variety of disciplines, including Education, Marketing, Medicine,
Architecture, and Social Work, but can be applied to almost
any professional field.
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Why is Business Gerontology so important?
Workforce diversity is good business because it allows all
members of society an equal voice and opportunity to succeed.
Historically, ignoring older workers has led to problems
within numerous professional corporations. More importantly,
according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
in 2006, Fortune 500 companies lost over $51.5 million due
to workplace age discrimination, by conservative estimates.
These losses coincided with the fact that the number of available
younger workers had begun to fall.
"Baby Busters” number about 56 million, while
there are about 76 million Baby Boomers. When fewer young
people enter the workforce, where 40+ workers are not valued
for their experience, it jeopardizes mentorship of younger
employees and their job retention. It seems inevitable that
global societies adopt a more age-neutral approach to recruiting
decisions, and cease faulting older workers for poor strategic
planning.
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How can my company promote age neutral or positive images
of aging and older workers?
GeroBiz offers services to enhance internal relations between
older and younger workers. While we look deeply at corporate
culture, and its effect on worker morale and retention, corporate
culture remains a top-driven force. Following is a brief overview
of AARP’S age-neutral guidelines:
1. Look realistically
at the policies that govern your workplace. Do they treat
different age groups differently?
2. Do you have a diverse workforce?
Measure it regularly to be sure.
3. Is training reserved
for only younger workers or offered to all? Is it designed
to appeal to all age groups equally?
4. Is there a mentor program that
identifies older workers, rewards those who have earned
recognition, and helps facilitate new recruits adapting
to your corporate culture?
5. Have you trained your managers
so they understand the elements of harassment and the basics
of employment law? Do they know your current EEO policies?
6. Have you brought in training programs
to reduce workplace stereotypes and encourage diversity?
7. Is your company able to evaluate
employee data, as well as interview managers, to determine
attitudes toward EEO policies and practices?
8. Do your managers conduct free-form
interviews, without regard for official corporate policy?
9. Do you take employment data at
face value, and fail to look realistically at potential
problems? Are your managers able to communicate with you
about these matters or are the policies paid lip service
only?
These and many other issues must be regularly assessed (at
least biannually) in order to maintain age neutrality in the
workplace.
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What can I do if my firm is at risk of an Age Discrimination
in Employment lawsuit?
If you are in management, perhaps you can help to
change the status quo, by examining your hiring practices
before others do. You can help your Human Resources decision-makers
by facing the necessary policy updates, so the next generation
of staff will be hired with a clear understanding of them.
You can reverse the trend toward skills obsolescence by offering
training programs to all groups equally, and by encouraging
your employees to take advantage of them.
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