Study: older workers fear an increase in ageism in the workplace

People aged 55 and over are one of the fastest growing demographics in the workforce. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2002 and 2012, the number of workers older than 55 in the workforce will increase by 50%. The Heldrich Center for Workforce Development’s recent study entitled “A Work-Filled Retirement: Workers’ Changing Views on Employment and Leisure” revealed that the majority of workers fear that ageism in the workplace will increase as the number of older workers in the workplace increases.

Here are some of the results of the Heldrich Center study:

• 44% of older workers believe that employers treat older workers unfairly when making hiring decisions.

• 71% of workers believe that older workers are more likely to be laid off when companies are downsizing.

• Most workers consider themselves to be “older” workers only after they have passed the age of 60, but 40% of workers believe that employers begin to view them as older workers when they turn 50.

• 86% believe that younger workers who are laid off are more likely than older workers who are laid off to find jobs that with the same or better pay then their previous jobs after being laid off.

Source:
Heldrich Center for Workforce Development: A Work-Filled Retirement: Workers’ Changing Views on Employment and Leisure

Click here to read the entire study (pdf)