Legal Issues as we Age | a Four-Part Series

(Taken from Susan L. Evans' speech presented at Law Day at Montreat College in Black Mountain, NC April 28, 2011)

Preface

Last week on April 28, 2011, I was invited to speak and join a panel discussion at Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina, regarding legal issues affecting us as we age.  My participation centered around the topic of age discrimination in the workplace. This topic is one of great interest to me, so I will present my speech as a four-part blog series during the course of the next four weeks.  As an employment attorney, the topic of age discrimination in the workplace is, perhaps, punctuated by the fact that we now have 4 generations in the workplace for the first time in history.

I welcome your comments and personal observations throughout this four-part series.  If you believe you may have an employment law case, please contact me for a free, confidential consultation.

Part I: The Workplace Today.

 

Before introducing the technicalities of the law on this topic, I want to give you a backdrop of what the workplace looks like today.  

For the first time in American history, we currently have four generations working together in the workplace: Generation Y, Generation X, Baby Boomers and Veterans.  In times past, there were two at the most. 

 

So, how is it that we now find ourselves with four generations working side-by-side?  Globally, more and more people will have a longer life expectancy.  With rapid advances in medical technology, longevity is increasing.  Not only are people living longer, but they are working longer, too.  Sometimes, it's to keep their minds active.  Sometimes, it's because an exit from the workplace would cause boredom.  It also keeps those who are older in touch with other people and connected with society.  Families are more scattered geographically than they were generations ago.  Oftentimes, an elderly person is truly alone, except for workplace companions.  However, in many instances, the elderly are working out of economic necessity.  This reason is expected to grow.  Extended employment life into the late sixties and seventies  is increasingly necessary for individuals to accumulate sufficient retirement savings to finance a lengthy period of old age.  

This new generational diversity presents benefits and challenges, which draw from the many differences among the generations.  The differences in age lead us to other differences, such as differences in background, workplace culture,  experience, skills and mindsets.  All of this creates challenges for employers and employees alike.  For example, the technological gap is one of the marked differences between the generations in the workplace today.  It is true that some older people are not as comfortable or savvy with computers.  Additionally, human resource professionals are reporting that younger generations don't place as much emphasis on how and when the work gets done, just that it gets done.  That's a  stark difference to the 9 to 5 mentality of the older generations.  The younger generations tend to lean more into trends such as flex time and telecommuting for certain types of jobs.

The upside is that these differences enrich the workplace and the workforce where members of differing generations are willing to listen to, learn from and benefit from one another.   It can result in a budding and rich garden of diversity where mentoring, skill sharpening, innovation, sharing and teamwork take place.  The downside is that these differences, as well as age barriers among workers and stereotypes that are given the aging and elderly, lead to age discrimination in the workplace.

Please feel free to leave your comments below, as I wish to encourage a community discussion on the above issues.  Next week I will proceed to the topic of Age Discrimination.