Barbara Quirk: Don't let anyone call you an old fart
So someone at work calls you "an old fart." Does it really matter? According to a recent study from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, it matters a lot.
Bob McCann, an associate professor of management communication at USC, shows ageist language has played a major role in age discrimination lawsuits. "Our research has clearly shown links between ageist language and reported health outcomes as broad as reduced life satisfaction, lowered self-esteem, and even depression," said McCann. "Such language can even hasten retirement decisions."
Age-related comments such as "the old lady," "that old goat," "too long on the job," "old and tired," "he had bags under his eyes" are just some of the hundreds of ageist comments unearthed by McCann and his colleague Howard Giles from UC-Santa Barbara.
Unfortunately, this is happening at a time when many older workers are having to delay their retirement, or are returning to the work force to meet their rising cost of living.
"Demographic trends point to a more age-diverse work force," said McCann. "The wrong language denigrating older workers, even if only subtly, can have an outsized negative impact on employee productivity and corporate profits."
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Remember that old singsong, playground response to a bully? Apparently we were wrong. Words can and do hurt, especially in the work force.
According to McCann, "The workplace is a particularly fertile and problematic area for ageist communication, given that people derive so much of their identity from work."
In lawsuits, says McCann, this is how the argument goes: "For the plaintiff, the defendant's ageist comments typically are perceived as clear evidence of the company's discriminatory intent toward older workers. Defendants, by contrast, generally view these same ageist comments as 'stray remarks' proving little other than that ageism is prevalent in society at large."
The truth is that ageism is common in all facets of society. We find it in health care, education, retail, television, and, for a good example, politics. John McCain is said to be "too old to be president."
Certainly, ageism is in the workplace. But there, where one's livelihood is at stake, one can hardly ignore it, or simply walk away.
Different ways of expressing ageism in the work force are the "young blood" remarks: "We need young blood around here." "Let's bring in the young guns."
According to McCann, " 'Young blood' communication has appeared in numerous cases, including one where a company president detailed his wishes for a 'young line of command,' while in another, management expressed its wish to 'get rid of the good old Joes.' "
Such blatant age discrimination needs to meet up with the law.
The statistics are clear. Many retiree-aged people are finding themselves woefully short of adequate savings to see leaving the work force as an option. The average household's savings for retirement is $60,000. At the same time, the costs of energy, food and other basic requirements are on the rise. The problem is compounded by the fact that workers of all ages are bringing home smaller and smaller paychecks as overtime vanishes and shorter workweeks are becoming the norm.
Does ageism in the work force matter? This is truly a case where insult does add to injury.
Barbara Quirk is a Madison geriatric nurse practitioner.
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Calling someone an 'old fart' or other such language can be a major part of an age discrimination lawsuit.
