INTHEBLACK May 2022 - Magazine - Page 53
PROBLEM
WITHOUT
BORDERS
Above: Fiona Lamb,
MAX Solutions
Top right: Louisa
Yeung FCPA, KOS
International
“IF EMPLOYERS INSIST ON USING AGE IN
HIRING, IN TIME THEY WILL BE FACING A
SHORTAGE OF TALENT TO CARRY OUT SPECIFIC
FUNCTIONS OR JOB ROLES.”
LOUISA YEUNG FCPA, KOS INTERNATIONAL
many years left but are out of work, they will
be unable to pay their mortgage, and they may
be supporting a multi-generational household
with children and older family members.
“This will also place greater strain on the
wider community, if we have people needing
to access their savings or superannuation,
which will impact their retirement funds,
leading to more people relying on benefits,”
says Lamb.
The cost is more than just economic, says
Ian Yates, CEO of Council on the Ageing
(COTA) Australia.
“Ageism has a whole variety of
implications. Obviously, for individuals it has
a negative impact if it is expressed through
people applying for jobs and not getting any
replies to their applications.
“For others, they may get an interview, but
as soon as they walk in the door they can tell
from the body language they are not going to
get the job once the interviewers can see that
person is older.
“Those things can have really deleterious
effects on the individual, especially when
this happens at a later stage of your working
life, when actually you should be financially
preparing for your post-working life,” says Yates.
CHANGING MINDS
Lamb says there are plenty of misconceptions
about older workers in Australia that need to
be challenged.
The MAX Solutions’ report highlights
that employers who do take a chance on
older recruits agree they are more adept at
Prejudiced attitudes towards older
workers are not just an Australian
problem. The World Health Organization
(WHO) has recently described it as “an
insidious scourge on society”, calling for
a global awareness campaign to combat
its negative effects.
For Hong Kong-based recruiter Louisa
Yeung FCPA, CEO of KOS International,
there is clear evidence of ageism playing
out in the way employers recruit staff.
While the applicant’s preferred age is not
specifically listed, it may be indicated in
other ways.
“Ageism in general is a ‘taboo’ among
employers in Hong Kong. They will list
their preferred profile or requirements in
the job descriptions and when they get
to age, they will use a total number of
years of experience to indicate their
preferred age group.
“For labourers, employers in Hong
Kong are very open and direct in
specifying their needs and requirements.
In reality, with the shortage of labour in
Hong Kong, employers will need to
compromise and accept candidates at
50-plus,” says Yeung.
The economic consequences of such
selective hiring will play out in time, she
says. Younger people have a different
definition of career to those born before
1990.
“As such, if employers insist on using
age in hiring, in time they will be facing
a shortage of talent to carry out specific
functions or job roles.”
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au May 2022 53