Share Now: What Not to Say to Older Co-Workers

4 Ageist Phrases to Quit Saying at The Office

from U.S. News & World Report

(Editor's Note) As people delay retirement, It is becoming more important to bridge the gap between generations at the workplace. In this article in U.S.News and World Report, Susannah Snider discusses how thoughtless comments made by co-workers can be ageist and hurtful. Although the Age Discrimination in Employment Act is in place to protect older workers, it cannot prevent an occasional dig by a younger colleague when it comes to technical skills or trends.Ageist comments make people feel devalued,  they lose confidence, and work performance can be affected.

The author identifies 4 common phrases that should be avoided:

1. "You're overqualified." This statement, typically lobbed at job applicants, "is almost always code for 'You're too old,'" says Joanna Lahey, associate professor at Texas A&M University and expert on age discrimination and the relationship between age and labor market outcomes...
2. "Don't worry, you don't need to take that computer training class." Employees should avoid the assumption that older workers are technological dinosaurs who can't learn new skills.
Seasoned employees are assumed to be "adverse to change, that they won't take on new technologies," says Jessica Kriegel, author of "Unfairly Labeled: How Your Workplace Can Benefit From Ditching Generational Stereotypes." "But it's often older workers who are implementing the changes to the technology."

Read complete article here.

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