Inclusive Recruitment? Hiring Discrimination Against Older Workers

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractAddressing population ageing requires a rise in the activity rates of older workers. In this study, a field experiment for the period 2013-2015 in the UK, suggests that age discrimination persists at alarming levels. It shows that when two applicants engage in an identical job search, the older applicant would gain fewer invitations for interviews regardless of her/his experience or superiority for the appointment. The results also suggest that older applicants face higher occupational access constraints for blue-collar jobs than white-collar/pink-collar jobs, and that women face greater age discrimination than men. Worryingly, the outcomes suggest that older applicants gain poorer access to vacancies than younger applicants irrespective of written commitments to equal opportunities. The design of the study suggests that discrimination results from distaste for older applicants, which has not been eliminated by the introduction of anti-discrimination legislation. Eliminating ageism in recruitment requires organizations to adopt more inclusive HR policies at the earliest stages of the recruitment process. Social dialogue has a crucial role to play in shaping inclusive and discrimination free recruitment policies such that shared values and beliefs are not agediscriminatory but rather recognize the strengths and potential of workers from different age groups. JEL Code: C93; C9; J14; J1

Lay theories and ageist attitudes at work: Essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging, fixed mindsets, and cyclical perception of time are linked to ageist attitudes toward older workers

“…Further replication in a sample of blue‐collar workers will be beneficial as our results may potentially have greater relevance to the blue‐collar sector. Past research has indicated that older job applicants may face greater barriers to blue‐collar jobs compared to white‐collar jobs because of the expectation that physical performance necessarily declines with age (Drydakis et al., 2017; Oesch, 2020). At the same time, a meta‐analysis demonstrated that age was only weakly related to poor physical health, and argued that more serious conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, typically occur only after retirement (Ng & Feldman, 2012).…”

Workplace positive actions, trans people’s self-esteem and human resources’ evaluations

“…Whether a positive action will bring outcomes is a government’s big challenge. Social dialogue between policy makers, unions and employers might be required for coordinated workplace actions to integrate vulnerable population groups (Drydakis et al , 2017).…”

What Does a Job Candidate's Age Signal to Employers?

“…There are various explanations for the low employment rates for people between the ages of 55 and 64, one of which is age discrimination in hiring. Previous research has found considerable evidence of age discrimination in hiring in the United States (Johnson & Neumark, 1997;Lahey, 2008;Farber, Silverman, & von Wachter, 2016;Neumark, Burn, & Button, 2016, 2019Neumark, Burn, Button, & Chehras, 2019;Neumark, 2018), the United Kingdom (Riach & Rich, 2010;Tinsley, 2012;Riach, 2015;Drydakis, 2017), and the European Union (Riach, 2015;Baert, Norga, Thuy, & Van Hecke, 2016;Carlsson & Eriksson, 2017). 1 Hiring discrimination pushes older workers out of the labour market, forcing many to claim retirement benefits prior to full retirement age.…”