By Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco

There is a widespread prejudice in the workplace.

The (Not So) Invisible Prejudice
It results in workplace policies and approaches that undermine the contribution and potential of the employees being discriminated against, often demoralizing them to the point their self-confidence becomes threadbare despite proven capabilities and successes.

It also creates conflicts between workers and filters out a significant percentage of highly valuable skilled people in the recruitment process. It also sabotages collaboration and productivity within teams, while shutting the door on insights and innovations that can help organizations better service customers and increase their reach and market.

Despite this prejudice’s profound impact, it is so engrained that it is invisible even to those committed to leveraging diversity and building respectful workplaces. As a result, human resources professionals and organizations are not being proactive in developing strategies to address it.

Ageism Persists via Focus on Generational Differences
What is this prejudice? Ageism—discrimination anchored on stereotypes, generalizations and assumptions based on a person’s age.

Ironically, while we live in times when the pushback against prejudice in favour of greater inclusivity is stronger than ever, ageist stereotypes are at an all-time high. According to Age-Based Stereotypes: Silent Killer of Collaboration and Productivity, a 2011 comprehensive primary and secondary research study published by AchieveGlobal, an international skills and leadership training firm, this is largely due to the focus in recent years on generational differences.

“Today’s popular view of the generations has little basis in science. Instead, it arises from stereotyping, over-generalizing from isolated examples, biased research methodology, and widespread prejudice toward older and younger employees,” states the study, citing a growing number of university researchers who are refuting the popular generational stereotypes.

Ageist Stereotypes Impact Every Generation
Ageism is such an unconscious bias, in other words, that it has even been incorporated into studies on generational differences and strategies to address issues with intergenerational dynamics. But research is showing these issues are not due to age differences. They’re due to ageist stereotypes of every generation.

What does this mean in the workplace?

Researchers have found ageism, particularly towards workers 45 plus, is likely playing a significant role in many HR decisions, from hiring choices, to worker evaluations and promotions, even to segregation within workplaces and in team building. All this is happening without the business leaders, managers or human resources professionals themselves being aware of their own prejudice.

Addressing the Hidden Bias
In 2013, New Zealand researchers Sanna Malinen and Lucy Johnston, conducted a study, Workplace Ageism: Discovering Hidden Bias, that found consistent ageism toward workers 45 plus—even among people who believed they were not ageist. Common prejudices against workers 45 plus include that they are not as productive as younger workers and that they aren’t able to learn and be retrained or adapt to a new corporate culture or role, which means they’re less likely to be promoted, called for a job interview or be hired than younger counterparts.

In fact, in 2006, researchers Stephen Vodanovich, Deborah Rupp and Marcus Credé found poor performance reviews and punitive recommendations for older workers could be predicted based on a manager’s unconscious—or implicit—ageism. Other researchers over the years have found that in ageist workplaces, the self-confidence of older workers erodes. They simply internalize the negative perceptions.

Ageism Affects the Bigger Picture
However, ageism also affects overall workplace productivity and collaboration. Whenever there is an underlying prejudice—which is ultimately an injustice—there are resentments, frustration, miscommunication and conflict. In short, implicit prejudice is toxic and it affects a wide range of decisions and policies.

According to another 2005 study by Australians Libby Brooke, an associate professor at the Business Work and Ageing Centre at Swinburne University, and Philip Taylor, a professor at Monash University, “age-related assumptions affected the management of knowledge and skills and the ways in which older and younger workers were employed.”

The Solution: Age Diversity
Today, more and more researchers are pointing to the urgent need for formal human resources initiatives to raise awareness of implicit ageism in the workplace, as well as more education at all levels on the business case for age diversity—and with good reason.

The authors of Workplace Ageism: Discovering Hidden Bias found in their research that using tools to measure implicit ageism can be highly effective in changing attitudes. Awareness is half the battle. AchieveGlobal’s study also outlined the need for tackling ageism proactively, providing key starting points, including challenging stereotypes and building common ground because there are more similarities than differences between most people regardless of age, colour, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

To bring greater clarity to the prejudice and potential alike, at the beginning of 2015, A Guide for Human Resource Professionals: The Business Case to Hire Experience.  Filled with practical insights and tips for countering implicit ageism from recruitment to retention, the guide also includes best practices for nurturing an inclusive age-diverse workforce.

Change is in the air, but it will take the leadership of human resources professionals willing to self-educate and educate others on implicit ageism to seize that change and translate it into practice in their organizations.

Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco is an associate with ThirdQuarter, a division of Skills Connect Inc.