Source: Global Times
Singapore's Straits Times article on October 24, original title: It is time to "retire" age discrimination at work A survey of 1,000 employees conducted by Singapore's public welfare organization AWARE and consumer research company Milieu Insight showed that 1 in every 2 employees in Singapore said they had suffered workplace discrimination in the past five years. Of this group, 35% said they had been discriminated against for age, the second most common reason behind race (41%). Given Singapore’s aging population, rising life expectancy and low fertility rates, how to address age discrimination in the workforce will have an impact on decades to come.
International and local research in Singapore both believe that employees are suffering from age discrimination from their 40s, and they will find that they have fewer training opportunities, are ignored in promotions, and are also regarded as layoff targets. Given that Singapore's retirement age is 63 and employees can still get rehired before they are 67, it is obviously too early to suffer age discrimination in their 40s. This phenomenon is even more worrying when considering Singapore's retirement age will be raised to 65 by 2030 and the re-hire age will be extended to 70.
If age discrimination in the workplace is not fully resolved, older employees may face the risk of being discriminated against in nearly half of their careers. This is not good news for a country that is trying to promote the concept of "active ageing".
In fact, age discrimination mainly comes from the prejudice of employers and colleagues against older employees, that is, they believe that they are stubborn, have poor adaptability, lack of physical strength and technical ability, etc. Such behaviors will cause huge economic losses. A study in the United States found that older Americans are unable to find jobs, change careers or advance due to age discrimination, resulting in huge economic losses. The above survey by
AWARE and Milieu Insight shows that the most common discrimination faced by employees aged 45 and older include: being at a disadvantage in company policies or practices due to age and other characteristics; suffering from discrimination related to performance appraisal and promotion; and suffering from workplace harassment. A woman sought help from AWARE’s workplace harassment and discrimination counseling services and received a negative review in her job performance appraisal just before she reached the age of being eligible for re-employment. Although she has been performing well in the company before, her work was quickly terminated after her performance was assessed without feedback and discussion.
At a special panel organized by the Singapore Federation of Aging Women in June this year, one participant said that although she is still capable and willing to continue working, her young colleague told her that she should retire because she is over 60 years old. Other participants said the reality forced them to feel guilty for blocking the promotion path of young colleagues, and various workplace pressures have caused adverse and sometimes hostile work environments for older employees.
It is worth noting that the above survey found that employees aged 55 and older said that the primary reason they did not report their experience was fear of workplace retaliation, for example, fearing that their reputation would continue to be damaged. Although this is a common concern among victims and survivors of workplace discrimination, retaliation from employers will be particularly detrimental to older employees, as they have relatively slim chances of ensuring a new job compared to younger employees.
The investigation also requires that victims of discrimination who have not submitted formal reports describe their ideal report results. Nearly 30% said they would like to see “a clear anti-discrimination and grievance handling policy within the company.” If a company enforces anti-discrimination policies covering age discrimination, these discriminations will be easily corrected and employees should support colleagues who may be subject to discrimination. (Author Ong Soh Chin, translated by Cui Xiaodong)
