Grey Areas
Betty Ford is an employer's dream. The 75-year-old's boss even has a nickname to describe her perennial performance as the company's top sales producer. It's Dynamo Betty.
by Jesse Semko
Sounds complex? It isn’t. The same workplace practices that apply to race, religion or sex also apply to age. Just as an employer can’t force a Seventh-Day Adventist to work on a Saturday due to religious belief (it’s their Sabbath), they shouldn’t expect a 55-year-old to work like a 25-year-old.
An easy way of avoiding the nasty issue is to make sure an older employee’s new job is a good fit. “It’s been shown that they can be good mentors to younger workers,” says Ameyaw. So, why not take advantage of that experience?
That’s what ATB Financial did. The financial institution recently brought back a retiree who had previously worked in the company’s corporate learning centre. The woman will now run the company’s orientation seminars on a part-time basis. “Now, who better,” asks ATB’s Chipchar, “to invite new people into the company than someone who has been with us for 30 years?”
Still, it never hurts to prepare for the worst. In the unpleasant situation of letting an older worker go, it’s important an employer can prove the dismissal is due to a legitimate problem. Thomlinson, a legal expert in employment law, suggests stepping up the frequency of performance evaluations. “In its absence,” she says, “I think human-rights commissions will have more opportunities to connect those [firing] methods to age discrimination.” Plus, evaluations create a documented account of a worker’s performance over time that can be used to justify a case for dismissal.
HIRING, CONTRACTS AND WORKPLACE REQUESTS
Good hiring practices will always minimize potential problems. A business recruiting older workers must have a standard hiring procedure and know what can and cannot be asked during the early stages of the process. “You can’t ask questions that will lead someone to conclude you are prejudiced,” Ameyaw says, referring to a job application. “If you ask for age, it implies that you want to make a decision based on age.” That’s a definite no-no.
To avoid problems, Ameyaw suggests focusing on the skills needed to do the job. “You need to be clear what the job is and what it requires,” he says. “Then look for the skills and abilities that will fit that job. When you look at it that way, it minimizes any overemphasis on age, gender, or other areas human-rights legislation forbids.” So, if a job requires an employee to lift 50 pounds for two hours during a shift, make sure that fact is stated in the application process so a job seeker can decide if there’s anything preventing them from meeting that requirement.
Contracts, too, should deal with non-traditional requests such as alternative worksite arrangements, which will become increasingly important as more employees ask to work outside the office environment. “If you don’t have an alternative worksite arrangement policy,” Thomlinson says, “think about putting one in place.”
Things to consider include the length of time the arrangement might last, the employer’s ability to revert back to the original work arrangement, insurance issues, health and safety issues, and people asking to work from home. After that, the old legal adage applies: put it in writing.
RESPECT AT WORK
Every worker counts. Making employees realize that has big-time business payoffs. “If you want to make a profit,” Ameyah says, “You need to invest in workplace culture.” It’s hard, after all, to see how co-operation doesn’t add to the bottom line. Young and old working harmoniously together, Gen Y’s Internet savvy and tech know-how guided by a boomer’s experience. Good results seem guaranteed.
To create that environment, a workplace respect policy is needed. Thomlinson, coauthor of a Human Resources Guide to Workplace Investigations, explains what that entails: “A good policy will make it clear to your employees what behaviour is expected at your organization, and what are the consequences if it does not occur… [It] will signal to a manager their special obligation to ensure that employee behaviour is appropriate, and outline for them what to do if it is not.”
Often, problems will be covert. That includes innocent comments. You can imagine a situation where a boss is trying to manage the performance of an older worker and there is a legitimate performance issue. Maybe it’s around embracing a new technology, Thomlinson told attendees at the ICSC Forum. “The manager is making consistent comments along the lines of, ‘Come on, just get with the program. You’ve got to get up to speed’ – things that indirectly point to the fact that the individual might be of a certain generation or a certain age.”
Such comments can be a dangerous starting point, affecting both morale and performance. Training can stop them from cropping up. Workplaces that use toxic chemicals teach workers how to properly handle and store those chemicals. That principle, Ameyah believes, should be applied to all businesses. “There’s no reason why we can’t do the same thing when dealing with a positive work environment,” he says. “When you hire people make them read the policy, then have them sign off on it and date it.”
Positive reinforcement helps too. “You should constantly be looking for information that reinforces the policy,” he says. “For instance, if there is an article in the local newspaper about the contributions of the older worker, cut it out and paste it on the bulletin board.” Or look at the Human Rights Commission’s website, which regularly posts relevant information.
A workplace respect policy is indispensable in the event of a discrimination complaint. “Human rights officers,” Thomlinson writes in her book, “always inquire as to whether you have such a policy, and you are able to put your best legal foot forward if you say you do, and that you train your employees on the policy too.”
Preparation is about more than just protection. And it’s important not to see the issue strictly in terms of challenges. Having been in the workforce for a long time, older workers have a lot to offer in terms wisdom and experience. The challenge is channelling those skills. Welcome to the new Alberta Advantage
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