Attention, workers over 40: Reports of your demise have been greatly exaggerated.
When Fortune magazine splashed the headline “Finished at Forty” on its cover earlier this month, it caused quite a commotion. Talk-radio was abuzz, as graying America voiced its fears of the unemployment line, and thirtysomethings began counting the days until extinction. Suddenly, employees born before 1970 felt marked with a scarlet “A” for Aged.
Don’t panic, O Mature Ones! Sure, there are people who’ve been victims of ageism. But experts, from headhunters to attorneys, say it’s not the norm. More often than not, older workers are retaining or landing good jobs.
“The notion that companies are firing older people is an anomaly–we’re not seeing it,” says Ed Gubman, principal at Hewitt Associates, a Lincolnshire-based human resources consulting firm. “One of the fastest-growing segments of the work force is aged 50 and older.”
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the composition of the work force since 1983 has shifted upward to older workers, ages 45 to 64, who have longer tenure with their current employers. By 2005, the work force will total 146.7 million people, with 91.3 percent aged 35 on up, according to a study by Green Thumb Inc. and The Urban Institute.
“The higher-level, general managerial jobs are still going to people over 40,” says Linda Heagy, managing partner of Heidrick and Struggles, a Chicago executive recruiting firm. “Because of an organization’s complexities, they need seasoned people who have been in the market many years.” Heagy explains that people with more than 20 years of experience appeal to companies because they have mastered skills, know how to solve problems, understand how the company functions and have a history with customers.
Fired at 40? It’s important to view the whole picture, experts say, and not just spotlight an age.
“If a company thinks older workers aren’t worthwhile, then it’s not focusing on the right thing,” says Keith Swenson, principal at William M. Mercer, a management consulting firm in Chicago.
“The (companies) we’re talking about (in the Fortune article) may not be looking at it appropriately,” Swenson said. “If Employee X is 45 years old and making twice as much as the younger employee, it’s too simplistic an analysis (to say the older employee is overpaid). If companies are looking (just) at salary savings, then they’re not looking at the right thing. If an organization plans to be in business a long time, it needs to value older workers.”
Companies, Swenson explains, should ask themselves why there are unproductive employees by evaluating their own practices: Were the workers managed correctly from the start? Did they work with their employees to help them add value over time?
Still, while it may not be widespread, there is age discrimination in America, especially in the technology industry, where start-up and established companies tend to lure or attract young people.
“You really see age discrimination at high-tech computer firms and defense contractors,” says Laurie McCann, staff attorney with Washington, D.C.-based American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), a non-profit organization that helps Americans over age 50. “A lot of it is the culture of those companies, which stereotype older workers as not willing to learn.”
But even older workers are proving they can hold their own among young techies. Raymond Lilja, president of American Services Group International, an Oak Brook-based staffing and search firm, recalls a Chicago-area telecommunications company that recently hired a 55-year-old technical director to replace a 34-year-old, who was a technical whiz but lacked people skills.
Lilja also cites a local cosmetics company that fired a department of Generation Xers, but kept a 48-year-old woman, who was too good to let go.
And the argument that younger people work longer hours for less money isn’t a convincing one, Lilja says. “When the Gen Xers who are willing to work seven days a week are hired, they typically leave for higher-paying jobs in less than two years. When this happens enough times, employers may reconsider hiring 40-plus employees who are more likely to stick around.”
When 53-year-old Bill Boerger interviewed last July with the two 28-year-old founders of InterAccess Co. in Chicago, his skills and 30 years of experience at Ameritech Corp. clinched the job. Several months later, Boerger was promoted to chief operating officer of the Chicago-based Internet service provider.
“Age wasn’t a factor when we interviewed Bill, it was his experience and background,” says Tom Simonds, CEO and co-founder of InterAccess. “All those years with Ameritech and his excellent people and management skills have helped us grow faster, and better attract the attention of the telecommunications world.”
For Boerger, interviewing with the young and ambitious entrepreneurs wasn’t awkward; rather, it was a meeting of the minds. “We had a good match in attitudes; I liked their enthusiasm,” says Boerger, who had retired from Ameritech and was looking for new challenges in a different environment. “We also were on the same level of wanting to produce results.”
Although age discrimination isn’t as rampant as assumed, when it happens, it’s a difficult claim to prove. Federal and state age discrimination laws aren’t guarantees that employees are protected. Companies fearing lawsuits by employees come up with other excuses to get rid of workers, often pleading economic necessity.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 prohibits people age 40 and older from being discriminated against because of age. But violations are tough to prove in an employment-at-will state (every one but Montana), where companies can fire employees at any time, for just about any reason.
“Companies can let go of people over age 40 if it’s economically related, under the `business necessity’ defense,” adds Marty Dolan, attorney at Dolan and Shannon PC, a Chicago litigation firm concentrating on employment and civil rights. “The employee has the right to pursue litigation, but the defense isn’t typically as strong as employers’ who use employment at-will and economics as a defense.”
A worker’s best chance of winning, says Dolan, is when a company fires only one or two people over 40, not a larger group of mixed ages. Dolan recalls the plight of a 45-year-old male manager at a Chicago company who, after years on the job, suddenly found his work being scrutinized. Six months later, he was fired “for economic reasons”; a twentysomething was hired in his slot. Since the 45-year-old was the only one fired, and another person was hired right away, it’s unlikely that the economic defense would hold water, Dolan says.
If you think you’re a victim of age discrimination, Dolan advises documenting everything in writing, including detailed accounts of incidents, and keeping copies of the company handbook, memos and employment contracts. Dolan also warns not to sign any company-generated document, such as a severance package or a confidentiality pact that may take away your future work or litigation rights, without consulting a lawyer. Severance packages, which companies make attractive to appease the ousted worker, typically include a waiver of rights to sue for age discrimination.
For more information and tips, visit AARP’s Web site at www.aarp.org and click on “working options.” Or, call 1-800-424-3410.
For questions or concerns about age discrimination, contact the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 500 W. Madison St., 28th floor, Chicago 60661, 312-353-2713, and via the Internet at www.eeoc.gov. The TDD number is 800-669-6820.
OVER 40? KEEP YOUR EDGE
Most employers aren’t pruning their work force based on age, but older workers shouldn’t smugly believe they’re indispensable.
What sours employers on mature workers is not age, but attitude. When people are narrow-minded, inflexible and unwilling to adapt to new ways of doing business, they’re not useful — or pleasant — employees. Companies value people who work well in a team environment, have people skills, generate new ideas, continually learn new skills and have enthusiasm for the job.
“When older people are job hunting, they’re harder to place when there’s a hardening of attitudes,” says Raymond Lilja, president of an Oak Brook staffing and search firm. “If you’re not open-minded and flexible, it’ll be harder for you to get a job.”
AARP says if you want to stay employable and prove yourself an asset, you should assess your attitude and skills: Do you resist change and avoid learning new technologies or skills? Are you using your age as an excuse? Are your interests and skills aligned with a job you enjoy?
Bill Boerger, an Ameritech retiree who at 53 was hired by the 28-year-old founders of InterAccess Co., summarizes what puts young and old on equal footing in the workplace:
“The commonality between the really young and the old is the willingness to learn. “That’s the key where age makes no difference.”
