Middle-Age White-Collar Male Workers Frequent Victims of Age Discrimination in Australia

A survey for the Financial Services Council found that middle-age white-collar male workers in Australia with average salaries of $70,000 are frequent victims of age discrimination.

The discriminatory practices which have been experienced by 30 per cent of employees in that age and gender group are being laid-off or declared redundant ahead of other workers. The study attributed the vulnerability of that group of works to their outlook of full-time or nothing which results in unfair treatment.

Nicholas Wright, communications consultant of Westfield Wright and author of the report, cited as an common example male office workers in their 50s whose request to work three days a week often being rejected. Most of such types of employees are not willing to accept a pay cut or status while they seek flexible work arrangements.

"Rather than keep older workers on or retrain them, it is often far cheaper to simply retrench them," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted the report.

The report also explained the age discrimination to a growing number of managers and executives being in the age range of 30 to 50 and they prefer to deal with employees who are within the same age group or younger.

That is due to a prevailing attitude that employees beyond 50 years old who hold on to their jobs prevent younger people from being promoted.

The report pointed out that the era when workers hold on to their posts as their lifetime jobs is over and they need to be open to new possibilities to have an extension on their working life. Among the suggestions in the report is to make the older workers perform part-time roles or become mentors.

A report released last week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that 18 per cent of people who find it difficult to get a job are those aged 45 and above due to many employers considering them too old for work.

FSC Chief Executive John Brodgen opined that society may go through the same change of attitude toward older employees as it did when women entered the work force.

"Employers really need to begin to understand that it's perfectly OK to have people in their 70s in an office, particularly given what they bring to the table," he told The Australian.

The report came out at a time that even younger workers are being threatened as more industries in Australia outside the mining sector plan to cut their workforce or stop hiring for the next 12 months due to worsening global economic uncertainties.