TITLE: Age in the Workplace and Labor Market: The Experiences of Older Adults AUTHOR: Amanda Christine Bull, B.A. Hon. In light of this gap in the literature, this thesis asks: what are older workers' (55+) lived experiences of ageism. Using semi-structured interviews, this thesis uncovers the nuances, contradictions, emotions and realities that make up the experience of ageism in the Canadian workplace.
Introduction
Given this distinct lack of research and understanding of age in the workplace, the main research question for this thesis is: what are the lived experiences of older age workers (55+). If so, how?; and (3) what are the intersections of age with other forms of discrimination in the workplace. Also, I summarize the scientific development of the concept of age and age in the workplace.
Review of Related Literature and Research
What is Currently Known?
- Aging in Contemporary Society
- Ageism
- Older Adults in the Workplace
- Ageism in the Workplace
- Current Strategies to Manage Ageism in the Workplace
- Workplace and Labour Market Policies
Gaps in the Literature
The considerable literature dealing with the experience of ageism in the workplace has yet to understand the full extent of the problem. For example, in 2020 McConatha and colleagues sought to examine the impact of ageism in the workplace. Berger is most notable in this field, having published several works on the qualitative experience of ageism in the Canadian workplace.
Methodology
- Introduction
- Method
- Data Collection
- Role of the Researcher
- Data Analysis
In the above recruitment channels, the information about the study took the form of the Recruitment Poster (Appendix A). This theoretical perspective also sees the interview itself as a phenomenon that needs to be investigated as the narrative versions that are produced are driven by the context of the interview (Qu & . Dumay, 2011). Throughout the interview process, it was extremely important to reflect on the nature of the exchange between myself and the participant (Galletta, 2013; Hsiung, 2008; Probst, 2015).
This involved interrogating and examining the participants' beliefs, judgments and behaviors, as well as my own. It was important for me to acknowledge and understand what these effects may have been so that I could develop a 'real' understanding of the results. The purpose of this was to get a clear idea of the influence I could have on the results (Hsiung, 2008; Probst, 2015).
For the purposes of this research, thematic analysis was used to construct interpretations of the semi-structured interview data. This meant that I was forced to probe beyond the semantics of the data and examine the underlying ideas, assumptions, conceptualizations, and ideologies that informed the semantic content (Braun & Clarke, 2006). In doing so, I was able to identify key aspects of the experience that stood out to me.
For this project, I defined a theme as one that captured a significant aspect of the data related to the main research question and subquestions (eg, the nature of the age interaction).
Results
Participants
Themes
- Nature of the Ageist Interaction
- Explicit Discrimination
- Implicit Discrimination
- Assumptions Based on Stereotypes
- Psycho-Social Consequences
- Mental Health Issues
- Emotional Challenges
- Existential Considerations
- Preferred Coping Mechanisms
- Coping By Oneself
- Coping Via External Relationships
- Coping Through Actions
- Intersections with Other Forms of Discrimination
- Gender
- Racial
- Degree of COVID-19 Impact
- Positive Impact
- Negative Impact
This explicit discrimination also appeared to be present in the labor market when seeking re-entry into the workplace. Participants further described their experiences with individuals in the workplace who made age-related assumptions about their personality. This is only normal, given the hardships that every individual has to endure in the workplace or on the labor market.
One person emphasized how they have to “become a different person” when they are in a hiring situation and in the workplace. Not that it's bad, but you have to be careful not to mark your age because if you can get away with it physically while you're in the office, that's okay. It was also revealed that they have developed specific coping mechanisms to deal with these experiences and the subsequent challenges that come with ageism in the world.
While many participants were able to form a perspective on this topic, some individuals indicate that they simply internalize their experiences of age in the workplace. Overall, participants found that by building on their external relationships and maintaining social connections, they were able to be stronger in the face of aging in the workplace and labor market. A couple of participants pointed out how they practice escapism in order to completely remove themselves from the negative experiences they face in the workplace and in the labor market.
Throughout the interviews, one of the most significant social sites that intersected with age-based discrimination in the workplace was actually reported to be gender. There was, of course, extensive discussion around the negative consequences that COVID-19 has had on the experience of old age in the workplace and the labor market. This is quite representative of the incredibly varied experiences of ageism in the workplace and labor market.
Discussion
Main Findings
Despite the inconsistencies in findings across the various studies listed above, my findings are largely consistent with the rest of the literature surrounding ageism in the workplace and the experiences of the older workers themselves. Berger described numerous versions of the different facets of age discrimination in the labor market. My research echoes this in the descriptions of older workers and how their employers and potential hiring managers treated them.
The perspectives of older workers as reported by this research provided a more detailed and nuanced understanding of the meaning and importance of age in the labor market and workplace. In the labor market more generally, the concept of "too much experience" was introduced by my participants. In the job search process, older workers felt as if they were no longer considered an "ideal employee," resulting in failure to land an interview or position.
Creating a supportive work environment is critical to ensuring that older workers not only survive in the labor market, but thrive (Armstrong-Stassen & Schlosser, 2008; Ciampa & Chernesky, 2013). Additional reasons for participants' responses may lie in the underpinnings of stereotype embodiment and threat. This perspective can be understood in the context of the devaluation of the older female body, as discussed at the beginning of section 4.2.4.2.
It will therefore be particularly difficult if they are no longer allowed to participate in the labor market.
Implications and Recommendations
- Recommendations for Future Research
- Recommendations for Policy
Given that this research considers the knowledge created to be entirely unique to the various interactions between participants, the challenge is to provide concrete, reliable recommendations for practices aimed at reversing aging in the workplace. Key examples of this participatory methodology can be found in discussions by Flobak et al. (2021) and MacEntee et al. This is in addition to the following sections, which will discuss other avenues for future research and policy on aging in the workplace.
The findings of this project suggest that the experiences of ageism in the workplace are incredibly diverse. In the same vein, future research should seek to understand how these experiences of ageism change over time. Introducing more longitudinal investigations into ageism in the workplace and labor market will provide greater insight into the ways in which age-based discrimination changes over time.
While an important goal of this research was to gain a more nuanced and complete picture of the lived experiences of aging in the workplace, it nevertheless produced broad results that far reached many aspects of reality. In future research, scholars need to incorporate the lived experiences of older workers into recommendations for antiaging practices in the workplace. This is crucial given that generally the type of age discrimination that occurs in the labor market is categorized as "implicit".
Educational programs should also target managers and other leaders in the workplace to help them understand, recognize and prevent cases of age discrimination (Kadefors & Hanse, 2012; Posthuma & Campion, 2009; Pyrillis, 2016).
Strengths and Limitations
While this research has sought to understand the experiences of older workers who face age discrimination in the labor market through the application of a rigorous methodology, I acknowledge that there are nevertheless several limitations that have shaped the data discussed in this dissertation. The sample examined was quite small; only ten individuals were selected for inclusion. Although it is dependent on available resources (time, money, etc.), this certainly limits who was part of this study.
This sample reflects larger issues of gerontological research, where participants are largely White, affluent, and able-bodied older adults (Chazan, 2020; Martinson & Berridge, 2015). By including only those who work and live in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton region, I exclude those in the more rural areas of Ontario. This means that my sample is not fully representative of the elderly who work and look for work in this province.
This obviously has consequences for the education level, age and socio-economic status of the sample (Pew Research Center, 2014).
Conclusion
The aim of this approach was to describe in detail how older workers construct and make sense of their experience of aging in the labor market. Insights into the interactions between employers, young workers, and older workers provide a foundation of knowledge that will inform future scientific research on aging in the workplace. This work aligns strongly with the contemporary literature on aging in the workplace and the accounts of older workers.
Understanding work enjoyment among older workers: The importance of flexible work options and age discrimination in the workplace. Age in the workplace: The role of psychosocial factors in predicting job satisfaction, commitment, and engagement. Can you describe to me your most memorable experience of ageism in the workplace and/or hiring process.
How these experiences of age discrimination in the workplace make you feel about your personal experience of aging. Have you ever experienced discrimination in the workplace based on a characteristic other than age? In your experience, has COVID changed the way you experience age discrimination in the "workplace".
Would you like to know anything else about your experience of aging in the workplace or the labor market?
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C