Small Ways Workers Can Combat Age Discrimination In The Workplace
You might not feel like you are in a position to enact change within your organization, but with the fight to end ageism that isn’t the case. Small acts, by anyone within the organization, can be enough to alter the work culture and help eliminate age biases in the workplace.
How? Well, you’ve heard that small acts of kindness can have a big impact – the theory within the ageism fight is the same. Taking small steps towards ending ageism can have massively positive effects.
Small Acts That Can Have A Big Impact
Taking An Interest
Sometimes at work we get bogged down with meetings and physical to-dos, but it’s imperative to take time to have real-life conversations with co-workers about topics that aren’t work.
Taking this type of interest does a few things. First, it shows that you are a human, and that you care. It also shows others that they matter, as more than employees and work output. Plus, it creates a community within the organization.
By creating a community of actual people, not just names and work output, you create a company that has feelings, emotions, and is less likely to judge internally based on stereotypes.
You’ll find that within an organization that functions this way, there will be less age-bias comments, less hiring and firing based solely on age, and less ageism overall.
Network and Research Outside of the Company
By getting a sense of how other organizations act, your own organization will come to appreciate the community it has created and always strive to make it better. Any positive traits that are viewed within other companies can be implemented into your own, and any negative traits can be avoided more fiercely.
Creating a work community within your organizations walls is great, but keeping the outside world out can be detrimental to growth, and the future strength of your employees. Be sure to keep an eye outward to view pros and cons of how other organizations function and act accordingly to continue to strengthen your own internal employee bonds.
Hold Sharing Sessions
Having an open, natural dialogue within an organization is a great step towards eliminating ageism, and so is holding share-out sessions. These sessions are more formal, and allow individuals to share more work-related know-how to co-workers.
This puts everyone on a level playing field with knowledge. Don’t be afraid of knowledge-sharing within organizations. Having employees that know about a lot of topics will help them get more wins for the overall organization because knowledge sparks a plethora of ideas within organizational teams.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of ways that you can make big changes within your organization with small amounts of effort. Also keep in mind, that if you find a way to get wins against ageism, try not to be silent about them. Be sure to network with other companies to spread the word that taking down age bias in the workplace doesn’t have to be an overwhelming challenge – it can start small. Be the leader of change with small steps to create big wins in the workplace.
