Age Diversity Improves The Workplace

News Admin  July 30 2010 07:00:00 AM

Filling jobs with people of different ages 'improves the workplace'

Workplaces could be improved if jobs were filled with people of different ages instead of creating a "team of identikit people", an expert has said.

Rachel Krys, campaign director for the Employers Forum on Age (EFA), noted that the recruitment industry can choose which candidates should fill positions according to how old they are.

This is because they attempt to guess what their clients may be looking for according to the existing team, she explained.

If a company's staff members are mostly in their thirties, for example, a recruiter is likely to look for someone of a similar demographic, Ms Krys continued.

However, employers may be seeking people with creativity or dynamism that could transcend age, she noted.

"When you put lots of people who are the same together, it is actually really bad," Ms Krys stated, adding that mixing individuals of different ages can make a "much stronger and much more adaptable team."

Her comments followed the release of government statistics which showed that ageism is still the most common form of discrimination in the workplace, with four per cent of people over 50 making complaints about the issue in the last 12 months.

Read More at GoYocal

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