How Much Does Ageism Cost Your Company
Ageism costs time, energy, image and money. Organizations that continually suffer from the ageism epidemic are losing out across the board.
If ageism continues to fester inside of a company it can result in negative media attention, lack of new-hire interest, negative employee emotions, and loss of shareholder buy-in, customers and market share.
There are so many ways that ageism can have a long-lasting, negative impact on your organization. It’s important to stop ageism from happening within your company walls.
Here are some hard-hitting items that you are going to want to avoid by taking a stand against age-bias in your office.
Pay-Outs For Ageism Lawsuits
Ageism lawsuits aren’t something to turn a blind eye to. In fact, they can be extremely pricey. We’re talking millions, tens of millions and hundreds of millions – depending on who is suing your organization, and for what degree of age stereotyping and ageist practices.
These lawsuits will drain your bottom line, but it should never come to that. Stop ageism in its tracks so your company can continue to profit.
Ageism Is Bad For Branding
All it takes is one small group of people arguing that your company is ageist for your brand to suffer. Not striking out ageism practices in your workplace can get out to the media quickly, and in-turn you will lose out in so many ways.
First, you’ll have a hard time attracting talent. Nobody will want to come into your organization if it has a reputation for ageist hiring and firing practices, or anything in-between.
Also, if your brand image starts to suffer, so does your customer-base. The public doesn’t want to be associated with products and services that stem from organizations with bad business practices.
Plus, if you can’t attract talent, and your brand image is suffering, chances are you’ll have a hard time convincing shareholders to stick around. This sounds like an issue that needs immediate facing.
Current Employee Moral
Let’s bring the issue internally – you’ll have low employee moral if branding is bad, and there are ageist practices taking place within your organization. Your current workforce won’t feel like they’re making the right choice by staying, and you’ll have a lot of people walk out the door.
For those who do decide to stay, moral will be low. There will be whisperings around the water cooler about how your brand has suffered, and everyone will be wondering if they will be a victim of ageism next.
Negative Impacts To Your Output
We haven’t even discussed what happens within your organization after you refuse to hire older adults, or if you lay off older workers. Your output will suffer.
It seems trendy to bring in younger workers, and pay them a lesser salary, but what happens to the knowledge-base that it’s probable that your company relies on? What happens when one of those new, younger employees doesn’t know a best practice and makes a mistake.
If there’s no one around to train new, younger hires, your company will feel the pain points pretty soon. You should keep employees around for as long as possible, especially the ones who have years of experience under their belts.
It’s often assumed that “overqualified” is synonymous with “old,” however it really equates with being a subject matter expert with invaluable experience. These employees should be mentoring the young hires, and the new ideas they bring, to keep your company pushing forward.
Final Thoughts
Ageism can cost your organization in far more ways than just your pocket. It’s inexcusable to allow ageism to happen, and if you spot it within the walls of your company, it’s imperative to stop it – otherwise you’ll be losing out.
