Is small beautiful when it comes to the management of older workers?
Linda Alker, Manchester Metropolitan University
This paper examines relationships between attitudes towards older workers held by employers and managers in small medium and micro enterprises across a sample of industrial sectors. Previous studies carried out on older workers have found evidence of widespread discrimination in all areas of employment (Taylor and Walker, 1998). Age discrimination is insidious, widespread and permeates many aspects of working life, and recent UK evidence suggests that managers may hold a negative stereotype of the older worker (Chui et al, 2001; Warr and Pennington, 1993). Age discrimination emerged as a key debate in the UK in the 1990s during a period of industrial restructuring and downsizing, which led to low labour participation rates of older workers, and particularly males over 50 (Redman and Snape, 2005:5). The aim and objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between attitudes held by employers and managers and employment practices affecting older workers. The study concentrated on SMEs because previous research projects on older workers has focused on the large corporation (Arrowsmith and McGoldrick, 1997), despite the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) sector accounting for over 99 per cent of businesses in the UK, employing over 55 per cent of the labour force and accounting for 52 per cent of combined business turnover (Small Business Services, 2003). Therefore, this study is highly relevant, in the inter-national context of an ageing workforce and changes in anti-discriminatory legislation which is designed to outlaw age discrimination in the workplace. Following the EU Employment Equality Directive, the UK introduced anti-ageism legislation on the 1st October 2006.
Age discrimination in recruitment, training and redundancy is explained in terms of real or perceived marginal productivity differences between groups. Older workers may be held to possess a lower “stock” of “human capital” which also depreciates at a faster rate and which has less time remaining for realization (Arrowsmith and McGoldrick, 1997:2). In a small scale qualitative investigation of 20 employers, Metcalf and Thompson (1990) identified that, in response to demographic change, organisations were taking more active steps to recruit older people. However, the study identified that employers believed that older people were only suitable for employment in low skill, low responsibility and repetitive jobs. The more physically demanding, time pressurised or IT based jobs were deemed unsuitable for the older worker. The study also identified that older workers were considered to be less trainable than younger workers (Metcalf and Thompson, 1990). Tillsley (1990) drawing on her own and other researchers’ interview and survey work, compiled a list of age stereotypes held by employers. Negative stereotypes included them being less ready to grasp new technology, less adaptable to change, less able to learn and grasp new ideas, and being less interested in training. According to Warr, age discrimination occurs when ‘individuals are refused employment, dismissed from jobs, paid less, or denied promotions, training, or other benefits because of their age’ (1994:488).