Those
of us who want to or need to work can experience ageism and stereotypes when
we start looking for work. Despite evidence to the contrary, older people who
want to work are often perceived as physically weak, slower, and more
susceptible to absence from the job. However, older workers vary in these work
performance characteristics just as workers of younger ages do.
I listened as the
radio announcer talked to an employment advisor for seniors looking for work.
It was an interesting conversation and one that I had when I placed young
students into jobs in my other life. The counsellor talked about all of the
positive attributes that seniors bring to the job and I thought these could be
said of any age group. The reporter asked the councillor if what they were
saying was based on science/fact or just his opinion. I was disappointed when
the councillor said it was only their opinion. The reporter shut him down by
saying “I am sure that 20-year old’s would say the same thing about their
skills and attitudes, thanks for phoning.”
Ageism is subtle,
check-out clerks may ask robust seniors whether they need help with their
groceries. Store clerks repeat instructions and raise their voices on the
implicit presumption that seniors are hard of hearing or senescent. These types
of well-intended social interactions can be experienced as patronizing and can
create doubts for retirees about our competence as well as lead to feelings of
inferiority. “Forever Young” advertising (e.g., anti-aging cream) is another
negative influence on the psyche of older citizens. It also plays into myths
of age when employers go to hire. Ageism is against the law, but many seniors
will be denied a job based on “suitability” which is, in my view, a code word
for age discrimination.
There are not a lot
of job agencies in Canada for those over 65 who have retired. Some of the big
agencies allow you to post looking for jobs for senior citizens but the jobs
that come up are not specifically designed for seniors. Jobs should be easy to
find in our current market, but they are still hard for seniors as age discrimination is in
full force in most Canadian business operations. I know that there are
exceptions to this rule, and many seniors who want to work have found jobs, but
I suspect these are not what they wanted when they started their search.
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