Ageism continues to keep older people out of the workforce, survey finds

Despite the available job vacancies, older people are being kept out of the workforce due to ageism in the hiring process, according to new survey findings.

In a survey of HR professionals about attitudes to older workers, results showed one in six organisations will not consider hiring people aged 65 and above while only a quarter are open to hiring those aged 65 and above ‘to a large extent’.

Responses from HR professionals show similar ageism with just over half (56%) open to recruiting people aged 50-64 to ‘a large extent’ but 18% saying they’re only open to hiring older workers ‘to a small extent’ or ‘not at all’.

This 2023 Employing and Retaining Older Workers Survey was created in a partnership between the Australian HR Institute and the Australian Human Rights Commission, and AHRI CEO Sarah McCann-Bartlett describes the results as disappointing, especially at a time when Australia is experiencing historically high levels of job vacancies.

“ABS data shows there were 439,000 vacancies in February 2023 which is almost double the vacancies pre-pandemic, while two-thirds of HR professionals we surveyed say they are currently experiencing recruitment difficulties,” says McCann-Bartlett.

“Our results show employment of older workers could help ease these shortages as there are too many workplaces where older workers are not being utilised to their full potential”.

Taking a deep dive into some of the positives of hiring an older cohort of workers, the survey found the four greatest advantages to be their experience (85%), professional knowledge (71%), allowing for age diversity in the workplace (41%) and their reliability (25%). The report notes these advantages also proved to be consistent with previous surveys.

Speaking to the need for employers to recognise the advantages of older workers, Australian Human Rights Commission’s Age Discrimination Commissioner, The Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO said: “Many older workers can offer the knowledge, skills, and wisdom that businesses are currently seeking. Employers just need to shift their perspective, trust the data and stop buying into myths about older workers.”

Many of the myths about older workers not being able to adapt to change or having lower energy levels were directly contradicted by the survey results.

The report says there was no difference between older and younger workers in terms of job performance, concentration, ability to adapt to change, energy levels and creativity.

Respondents also recognised that older workers carry many advantages such as a good ability to cope with stress as well as good attendance, awareness, commitment and loyalty.

Other respondents highlighted younger workers’ positive attributes as physical capability, ambition and proficiency in using technology.

“Diversity is good for business — and that includes age diversity. This means the smart employers are providing workplace cultures which are attractive to employees of all ages, including the rapidly increasing number of workers who are 55+ years of age,” said Dr Patterson.

According to the report, the three greatest obstacles HR professionals said they face in recruiting older workers are a lack of applicants (32%), a perception that older workers lack the necessary tech skills (22%) and salary expectations that are too high (20%).

Looking at the workplace culture’s ability to better attract and retain “workers of all ages and life stages”, Dr Patterson said that flexible work hours and access to ongoing training are important for this — two policies the survey shows are lacking in many workplaces.

Survey findings revealed a decline in employers offering career planning and advice, training and development opportunities and flexible working hours.

On the flipside, approximately 50% of survey respondents said that their workplace offered flexible work locations. There was also a welcome rise in employers offering flexible job design policies, which almost doubled compared to previous years.

“Employers who lead by example and embrace age diversity will reap the rewards in terms of productivity, innovation, problem-solving and workforce stability,” said Dr Patterson.

This article was first published by Women’s Agenda.