Age Matters: SHRM Study Says Worker's Age Leads to Unfair Treatment

While not talked about as much as it used to be given the labor shortage, age still matters in today's workforce.

A recent study by SRHM showed that 30% of U.S. workers say they have felt unfairly treated due to their age at some point in their careers.

Of these workers, 72% say it even made them feel like quitting their job.

The data collected between February and April 2023 holds particular significance, says the group due to many employers choosing to work beyond the traditional retirement years.

Other key findings include:

• 11% of HR professionals agree that older employees are not always treated as fairly as younger employees.
• 26% of U.S. workers age 50 and older say they have been the target of age-related remarks in the workplace over the past six months.
• Among U.S. workers age 50 and older, 1 in 10 say in the past six months they have often or always felt less valuable at work compared to younger workers.
• Nearly 1 in 5 HR professionals (17%) say they have received reports of perceived ageism in their workplace.
• HR professionals who work for organizations that offer diversity, equity and inclusion training are significantly less likely to report that age has played a role in decisions made during the job application process (26%) compared to HR professionals who work for organizations that do not offer such training (40%).
• Common age stereotypes remain somewhat prevalent. According to people managers, older employees are more likely to be perceived by others as not competent with technology (49%), resistant to new ways of doing things (38%), and stubborn or grumpy (48%).