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CASE ANALYSIS

Over the past century, the average age of the workforce has continually increased as medical science
continues to enhance longevity and vitality. The fastest-growing segment of the workforce is individuals
over the age of 55. Recent medical research is exploring techniques that could extend human life to 100
years or more. In addition, the combination of laws prohibiting age discrimination and elimination of
defined-benefit pension plans means that many individuals continue to work well past the traditional age
of retirement. Unfortunately, older workers face a variety of discriminatory attitudes in the workplace.
Researchers scanned more than 100 publications on age discrimination to determine what types of age
stereotypes were most prevalent across studies. They found that stereotypes suggested job performance
declined with age, counter to empirical evidence presented earlier in this chapter that relationships
between age and core task performance are essentially nil. Stereotypes also suggest that older workers are
less adaptable, less flexible, and incapable of learning new concepts. Research, on the other hand,
suggests they are capable of learnging and adapting to new situations when these are framed
appropriately.

Organizations can take steps to limit age discrimination and ensure that employees are treated fairly
regardless of age. Many of the techniques to limit age discrimination come down to fundamentally sound
management practices relevant for all employees: set clear expectations for performance, deal with
problems directly, communicate with workers frequently, and follow clear policies and procedures
consistently. In particular, management professionals note that clarity and consistency can help ensure
all employees are treated equally regardless of age.

Questions
1. What changes in employment relationships are likely to occur as the population ages?

2. Do you think increasing age diversity will create new challenges for managers? What types of
challenges do you expect will be most profound?

3. How can organizations cope with differences related to age discrimination in the workplace?

4. What types of policies might lead to charges of age discrimination, and how can they be changed to
eliminate these problems?

Sources: Based on D. Stipp, The Anti-Aging Revolution, Fortune (June 14, 2010), pp. 124130; R. A.
Posthuma and M. A. Campion, Age Stereotypes in the Workplace: Common Stereotypes, Moderators,
and Future Research Directions, Journal of Management 35 (2009), pp. 158188; and H. Perlowski,
With an Aging Workforce, a Rising Risk of Discrimination Claims, Workforce Management Online
(July 2008), www.workforce.com.
Q1. What changes in employment relationships are likely to occur as the population
ages?

Human has four stages in life cycle such as Childhood, Young, Adult and Old age so cognitive learning
process and behavior of human got change along with life stages similarly, Employment relationship does
not stay constant it got change as age factor increases. In organization perspective, employee
relationships such as tenure of employees are increasing. With the increase in older individuals working
longer careers, the longer a person is in a job, the less likely he or she is to quit. The major
changes in employment relationships that are likely to occur as the population ages include:
More Experience:
Older employees will have more knowledge about company and more experience than fresheners
Employee who works in organization and his age is 50 years old where he has been working
since 20 years and another employee who is fresh and new definitely the know-how about
company and experience will be more of 50 yrs old employee.
Strong Judgment:
Older employee will have strong experience of company so he can make strong prediction
regarding to planning or taking decision about projects of company.
Strong work ethic & commitment to quality:
Older employee will make their comfortable zone to work in company and stay commitment to
quality.
However, there also exist negative changes that are likely to occur as the population ages. These
negative changes include:
Lack of Flexibility
Resistance to new technology

Q2: Do you think increasing age diversity will create new challenges for managers? What types of
challenges do you expect will be most profound?

Ans: Yes, age diversity is major factor which creates new challenges for managers because a old
employees and young employees will have different motivation level as old employees demand
comfortable zone as compared to young ones motivates from financial incentives so most profound
challenge for manager is to find a way to balance motivation in the workplace. This is because what
motivates a younger person will not necessarily motivate an older person. Other challenges for manager
are following given below:

Interaction issues:

When new employees from diverse backgrounds interact with long-standing employees it will be a great
challenge for manager to create interaction between them.

Issue in building cooperative team:

Therefore, managers will face the challenge of molding new employees and long-standing employees into
a cooperative team.

Q3. How can organizations cope with differences related to age discrimination in the
workplace?

Organizations can cope with the differences related to age discrimination in the workplace will
include:

Building a Team:

Merge older generational employees with newer ones. Teaming up the young with the old and
having these individuals feed ideas off of each other. By doing this, a company can share ideas
that both the young and old can contribute to. The younger employees can assist the older ones
by teaching the use of new technology. On the other side, the older generational employees who
are shown to have positive qualities such as experience, judgment, a strong work ethic, and
commitment to quality. The older work force can help by teaching the younger work force
about planning, decision making and focusing on life.

To allocate right position for older people:

By implementing strategies that place older people in positions best suited to their ability
without stereotyping them.

Friendly technology:

Organizations need to look for ways to make technology more friendly to older people as this
can enhance the workplace experience for an older population.
Q4: What types of policies might lead to charges of age discrimination, and how can they
be changed to eliminate these problems?

Answer:

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