POWER Ageing

The rise of longevity and the low birth and death rates in Europe result in a greater population of not only older persons but also of older workers (UN, 2019a). These significant socio-demographic changes and their related effects have increasingly attracted the attention of academics and policy makers. An ageing population directly affects retirement structures, employment and social policies, labour market trends, global workforces, social insurance frameworks, and workspaces (Ciampa & Chernesky, 2021).

The institutional concern with an ageing world was materialised for the first time with the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the Political Declaration – both set at the Second World Assembly on Ageing in 2002. The key challenge of “building a society for all ages” was then addressed (UN, 2022). As defined by the WHO, the decade of 2020 stands as the Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020–2030), where a more holistic approach to ageing has been challenging the well-established medical model (Ward & McGarrigle, 2017). Recently, health can be seen as the outcome of a combination of physical, mental and social factors. A policy framework on active ageing has been adopted by many European countries, harvesting positive results.

People are living healthier and longer, which favours, by choice or necessity, their working life extension, an idea celebrated by supranational organisations, the state and civil society. Remaining for a longer period at work translates into an increased GDP and tax revenues, while potentially postponing pension payments. Most industrialised countries have reformed their pension schemes to prolong working lives, albeit there is room for augmenting labour force participation at later life stages. Following up on this demand, the European Commission (2010) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2016) incentivise a greater involvement of older workers in the labour market. However, in a context of rapid economic and technological changes, an ageing workforce is forced to deal not only with the current organisational demands but also with discrimination at the workplace.

Recently, the World Health Organisation has published a global report on ageism – where the toxicity linked to this phenomenon as well as the necessity to tackle it – are transparent. Ageism has harmful and farreaching effects on people’s health, well-being and human rights (WHO, 2021). The analysis of the context of discrimination against older workers is therefore crucial. Despite attempts to outlaw age discrimination, ageism is still considered a problematic feature of most Western labour markets (Kroon et al., 2018). However, to date there has been little discussion, research, or policy development to ensure the well-being of older workers (Brownell & Kelly, 2021). The report presents the results of a systematic literature review based on 108 studies on the context of older workers, illuminating ageism in the workplace as well as making a series of recommendations on how to effectively manage intergenerational organisations.

The aims of this study are to: 

1. Conduct a comprehensive systematic literature review which identifies the issues associated with ageism and bullying of older people in the workplace.
2. Evaluate the breadth of ageism and bullying in the workplace in both a national (Ireland) and international context.
3. Evaluate the solutions which are used in the workplace to address ageism and bullying associated with older workers.
4. Evaluate a solution-oriented approach in terms of awareness of legislation to address ageism and bullying associated with older workers in the workplace.
5. Evaluate the extent of literature which deals with ageism associated with recruitment of older workers, training opportunities, promotional opportunities and end of career opportunities to enhance the productivity, health and well-being of both older and younger workers.
6. Evaluate the extent to which intergenerational learning initiatives and mentoring between older and younger workers helps to address ageism in the workplace.

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to work in a fair environment, while the Goals 3,4 and 8 of the UN 2030 Agenda focus on promoting a decent, inclusive work context for all (Cebola et al., 2021; UN, 2015). Around the world, ageism is vastly detectable in the organisational space: older adults are particularly vulnerable to age-based discrimination. Besides creating a virulent work environment that directly affects health and well-being, ageism decreases productivity and forces workers into early retirement. In times where people are living longer and healthier, and the idea of working life extension is gaining momentum, the report makes a contribution to the ongoing but recent exploration of ageism in the workplace as an object of study. There is a scholarly consensus on the need to gain a greater insight on age discrimination if this issue is to be effectively tackled by the state, private organisations and civil society (Kroon et al., 2018; Sugisawa, 2022; WHO, 2021).

Funded by the Irish Research Council, the study was conducted under DCU’s Anti-Bullying Centre, whose objectives supports the implementation of the Government of Ireland’s Action Plan on Bullying (2013), Action Plan for Online Safety (2018-2019), Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice (2018-2024), and the WRC/HSA Joint Code of Practice on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work (2021) (DCU, 2022). The study is also aligned with DCU’s initiatives towards an age-friendly society. As a founding member of Age Friendly University Global Networks, DCU, led by Dr. Corrigan – together with Arizona State University and the University of Strathclyde – were the first three universities to develop the 10 Principles of an Age-Friendly University in 2012. These principles have now been incorporated by 51 colleges worldwide.

The report is structured into five chapters: Chapter 1 introduces the study context, objectives and the rationale for the research. Chapter 2 presents the definition of ageism and examines the Irish context of older workers and ageism. Chapter 3 describes the systematic literature review methodology employed in the study. Chapter 4 presents the selected literature. Chapter 5 makes concluding remarks and recommendations.

During a 1969 Washington Post interview, Robert Butler, M.D. spontaneously coined the term ageism to designate age-related bigotry. Besides his thorough scholarly contribution, Butler helped to give ageism a “diagnostic label” (Achenbaum, 2021), which paved the way for ageism becoming an academic and policy concern. For Butler (1969), the first director of the US National Institute on Aging, combating ageism is of paramount importance in ensuring inter alia the human rights of older adults.

Ageism is broadly defined as “a set of social relations that discriminate against older people and set them apart as being different by defining and understanding them in an oversimplified, generalised way” (Minichiello et al., 2000, p.253). The WHO’s approach to the nature of ageism is closely associated with social psychology; it is manifested in the form of stereotypes (cognitive level: how we think), prejudice (emotional level: how we feel) or direct discrimination (behavioural level: how we act) (WHO, 2021; Iversen et al., 2009). Other authors, such as Spencer (2021) understand ageism as the cause for workplace bullying and harassment, or the “psychological harm inflicted against a worker in the workplace by fellow workers, managers or others” (Spencer, 2021, p.147). For the purposes of this report, the WHO’s perspective on ageism is adopted moving forward.

At age 18, one may be considered too old to become a world class pianist, but too young to coach a professional soccer team (WHO, 2021). While age is a social construct (ibid), ageism is a “social disease” (Palmore, 2015). Negative views about older people are not seldom in our society, nor are they recent. Stoic philosopher Seneca (4 BCE–65 CE), claimed that “senectus morbidus est” (old age is a disease), while Juvenal (55–127 CE) insulted septuagenarians with health conditions. In recent times, age has become “an individual and societal marker” in every-day older industrialised Western societies (Achenbaum, 2021).

Berger (2021) attributes to “some researchers” and more prominently the media, as the contributing sources of negative narratives towards older people in the societal level. More structurally, McDonald (2021) examines capitalist economies’ continuous policy efforts to marginalise older workers, framing retirement policies and pension schemes as “systematic ageism”. As to economic concerns, the focus placed on the cost of ageing may favour the creation of a tense atmosphere prone to ageism and intergenerational conflict (Berger, 2021). In critically invoking the term “apocalyptic demography” (Evans et al., 2001) to designate population ageing, Berger (2021) challenges the existence of a rationale for the use of the term “apocalyptic”, inviting us to reflect deeper on this issue. The increase in health-care spending is real. However, it is also a consequence of inflation and technological innovations, rather than being an exclusive effect of an ageing world (ibid).

Parallel to the collective imaginary around “apocalyptic demography” (Evans et al., 2001), one major incremental change that has attracted the attention of academics and policy makers is the rise of longevity and the low birth and death rates in Europe, resulting in a greater population of not only older persons but also of older workers (UN, 2019b; 2019c; Russell & Fahey, 2004). In the job market, fewer lifelong full-time jobs and more “flexible” forms of work, such as self-employment, contract work, freelancing, consultancy and part-time work lead civil society and the state to support such flexible forms as a solution for economic inactivity in later life (Platman, 2003). All the above phenomena have contributed to the enactment of public policies on active ageing, employment, and retirement, helping shape the labour market of industrialised nations (Russell and Fahey, 2004). This in turn, brings new, or accentuates old, problems.

One of these problems is the occurrence of ageism in the workplace and the related nefarious socio and economic consequences at both microand macro level. The effects of ageism are far-reaching, such as an increasing risk of abuse against older people (Spencer, 2021) and a higher economic cost for society: “billions of dollars”, according to the WHO (2021, p.16). While ageism increases the risk of poverty and financial insecurity for older people, it also deteriorates the organisational environment. If people live longer and healthier, their intention (or need) to extend their productive life is reasonable, being largely affected by economic and socio-demographic factors, health as well as policies and programmes on extended working life and active ageing (Laliberte Rudman & Aldrich, 2021). Therefore, a greater participation of older adults in the socio-political and work spheres should contribute to their empowerment (Brownell & Kelly, 2021), productivity and well-being (WHO, 2021) rather than being a medium for age discrimination.

Ageism is a transversal phenomenon; it is brought into being differently in distinct work dimensions, such as recruitment, training and promotion (Cebola et al., 2021). Furthermore, research has shown that ageism in the manager–employee relationship appears as one of the main obstacles towards an age-inclusive workplace (Previtali & Spedale, 2021), while age discrimination laws are not always enforced in organisations (Dennis & Thomas, 2007). Moreover, ageism negatively affects health, well-being, and human rights of older workers (Berger, 2021; WHO, 2021), hindering their levels of vitality (Vanajan et al., 2020), productivity, job satisfaction and commitment (Kleissner & Jahn, 2020a). Additionally, early retirement is not only a consequence of poor physical and or mental health but also of ageist policies and attitudes (Berger, 2021; Kleissner & Jahn, 2020a-b; McDonald, 2021).

A crucial point in this discussion is the exploration of the negative stereotypes of older workers, which in turn are immersed in oversimplification and generalisation (Minichiello et al., 2000). Older workers are seen as rigid, technologically incompetent, unproductive, unmotivated, inflexible, uncreative, as well as being incapable of both learning (particularly technological skills) and reporting to younger managers (Capelli & Novelli, 2013; Dennis & Thomas, 2007; WHO, 2021). On the other hand, older workers (especially if highly qualified) can be perceived as adaptable to change, positive, reliable, committed, experienced, hard-working, socially skilled, good mentors and leaders (WHO, 2021). How we think, feel, and act towards older people is deeply embedded in our own sense of self, as we learn to be ageists (Kellaway, 2022).

Given the current plethora of changes, from demographics to labour market and active ageing policies, it is timely to properly tackle ageism in the workplace: organisations and older employees have a lot to benefit from each other. An inevitably higher number of older people in the workforce will require environments where they can professionally flourish. The envisaged “win-win” socio-political agenda augments the recognition of the social, economic and health benefits of age-inclusive, intergenerational working environments. However, age is still underrepresented as to diversity policies in organisations (Kellaway, 2022), as illustrated below.

“Many companies have admirably focused resources on becoming more diverse and inclusive when it comes to gender and race, but too many are laggards when it comes to age. In a 2015 survey of global CEOs, PwC found that 64 percent of companies have a formal diversity and inclusiveness strategy and 85 percent of CEOs think it’s improved their bottom line. However, only 8 percent of the 64 percent include age as a dimension of their strategy. At a time when labor shortages are emerging, due in part to new restrictive immigration policies, while there simultaneously exists a demographically aging workforce that declares they want to delay retirement, it’s shocking to see so few company leaders think expansively age-wise about how they can attract and retain both the smartest and the wisest (Conley, 2018, p. 411).”

Chip Conley, then a 52-year-old successful boutique hotelier, joined Airbnb in 2013. After five years, Conley has become a spokesperson for the intergenerational workforce. Based on his experience working with colleagues in their twenty’s in an international tech start-up, he believes that each generation adds value and in combination fosters “intergenerational wisdom”, which amalgamates the emotional intelligence of older workers and the digital intelligence of younger workers (Conley, 2018; Keogh, 2021). In what follows, the context of older workers and ageism in Ireland is examined.

This study is a stand-alone systematic literature review (Templier & Paré, 2015) that aims to make sense of the body of existing literature (Rousseau et al., 2008) about the reality of older workers and ageism. To do so, a descriptive, textual narrative synthesis approach (Xiao and Watson, 2019) was applied. Such a descriptive review evaluates the current state of the literature focusing on specific topical areas (ibid).

The predefined thematic areas concerning the work universe of older people are, as follows: (1) state and (2) organisational policies related to older workers, (3) end of career opportunities, (4) recruitment, training and promotion, (5) health and wellbeing, 6) intergenerational learning, as well as (7) experiences of ageism. These predefined topics help organise the selected literature, as textual narrative synthesis is characterised by applying a standard data extraction format by which different characteristics of the literature, such as the findings and context, are the focus of the review (Popay et. al., 2006; Lucas et al., 2007). Due to this standardised nature of our review, quantitative and qualitative studies related to each topic area were included. For transparency purposes, the PRISMA guidelines (Page et al., 2021) guided the employed methodology. PRISMA stands for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. To ensure an objective and transparent review, this approach recommends applying the PRISMA-statement containing a checklist (see Appendix) and a flow diagram which is presented below (Figure 2).

Figure 2: PRISMA 2020 Flow-Diagram (adapted from Page et al. 2021)

In the following section, the entire review process is explained in detail: inclusion criteria as well as literature identification and screening.

This chapter presents the results of the systematic literature review on the universe of older workers and the issues associated with their work life. The following sections (4.2–4.8) encompass studies on macro- and organisational level policy regarding older workers; end of career opportunities; recruitment, training and promotion; intergenerational initiatives in organisations; health and well-being; and experiences of ageism in the workplace. The selected literature was grouped in accordance with the pre-defined themes under the realm of ageism in the workplace. Table 3 below provides an overview of the organisation of this chapter.

The next section (macro level policy on older workers) gathers publications on the influence of policy on the individual perception of healthy ageing; older adults providing care; unemployment among older adults; policies concerning older workers; and a brief appraisal of ageism in the workplace.

Table 4 below shows the 29 selected studies included in this section. It displays the authors of each study with the corresponding publishing journal as well as the country where the study was conducted or whether the manuscript refers to an overview of literature.

Guided by the assumption that older workers can extend their working lives (therefore diminishing their reliance on the state), a policy shift is observed in the Global North: the promotion of active, healthy ageing and age-friendly communities is on the rise (Berger, 2021; Spencer, 2021; Menec & Brown, 2022; Stengård et al., 2021). However, the capacity to keep being economically productive in late life stages is asymmetrically distributed and context dependent, particularly to those who experience unemployment in older age (Laliberte Rudman & Aldrich, 2021). The analysis of the policy discourse on older workers is therefore crucial not only to explore the institutional landscape of extended work lives but also to consider the degree of influence of policies in shaping one’s own understanding of this new trend (Lestari et al., 2021; Mandville-Anstey et al., 2022; Menec & Brown, 2022).

Table 5 below shows the 12 selected studies included in this section. It displays the authors of each study with the corresponding publishing journal as well as the country where the study was conducted or whether the manuscript refers to an overview of literature.

As much as the state, private organisations should engage in redesigning their human resources policy framework in order to accompany the social demographic changes occurring in the universe of work. In a societal landscape of increasing organisational influence, older workers should not only be contemplated with job opportunities that fit their skills and profile, but also have their work engagement and satisfaction considered and (ideally) guaranteed by HR policies, which in turn demands the establishment of work environments where ageist attitudes are condemned (Berger, 2021; Fasbender & Gerpott, 2021; Kooij et al., 2022; North, 2022; Reed & Thomas, 2021; WHO, 2021). Moreover, there is a real demand for orchestration in relation to state and organisational initiatives favouring older workers.

Despite legislative efforts to encourage the participation of older adults in the Scottish labour market, Egdell et al. (2020) point out to a lack of organisationally systemic approaches to prepare for the demographic and labour market changes. This qualitative study shows that employees’ age and fitness for work is considered on an individual basis rather than approached systematically and structurally, indicating a hands-off approach from management. In Sweden, Arman et al. (2021) explains that older workers are viewed as either representatives of productive ageing and a solution to labour shortage problems, or as a barrier to recruiting younger, more promising employees with new skills. The study also shows how HR human resources departments are working towards maintaining retirement-timing narratives in Swedish workplaces. For the great majority, organisations avoid discussions about delaying the retirement age.

As to management resources within organisations, Reed & Thomas (2021) make a case for the great potential of “management-by-generation”. The authors consider this increasingly more common management tool to organise the workforce in generations, which in turn allows management to find the best fit between the employee’s characteristics and the task itself. Such “generational characteristics” may help inform the most adequate leadership styles and reward systems (p.47). Below is an excerpt extracted from a senior HR manager participant of Reed & Thomas’ (2021) study that illustrates how the practice of managing by generation is performed.

“Basically the thinking behind it is there’s no good or bad employees, there’s just differences in the profiles. So we help managers have an understanding of what appeals to different profiles in the workforce . . . The message is let’s acknowledge those differences and their diversity and what appeals to them, and let’s help you manage them . . . (Senior HR) (Reed & Thomas 2021, p.53).”

As much as Reed & Thomas (2021), Kooij et al. (2022) endorse the importance of job crafting behaviour, highlighting its key role in retaining older workers through “opportunity-enhancing HR practices”. Conducting a survey with 125 Dutch older workers (65+), Kooij et al. (2022) found that such HR practices are associated with changes in psychological empowerment, altering utilisation and developmental crafting behaviours. However, changes in empowerment did not result in changes in accommodative crafting. Although job crafting is organic and emergent, organisations may set adequate conditions for which to flourish.

Manzi et al. (2021) also advocate the elaboration of new HR policies to recognise and enhance the workers’ experience, increasing not only productivity but also authenticity, organisational identification and self-rate performance. Interestingly, Manzi et al (2021) suggest tackling age diversity by focusing on organisational practices and skills, where age would not assume a central role. Consequently, stereotypical views on older workers would become less relevant in the organisational space. Yet on job crafting related initiatives, Fasbender & Gerpott (2021) found that HR “accommodation practices” enhanced the relation between occupational self-efficacy and knowledge sharing. Nevertheless, the consequences of such practices are not always positive. While HR practices aided employees with higher occupational self-efficacy, they also contribute to a reduction in knowledge sharing by employees with lower occupational self-efficacy, a product of perceived age discrimination.

Classifying ageism as a “pan-cultural problem” (p.1) and going beyond the view on ageism as limited to chronological age, North (2022) points out to the interconnectedness of age with other factors, such as culture and work experience to delve into a recently developed organisational behaviour framework named “GATE”. This tool focuses on prejudice emerging from workers’ perceived “Generation (birth cohort), Age (life stage), Tenure (time with organization), and Experience (accumulated skill set over time)” (p.01). From a cross-cultural comparative perspective between the US and China, North (2022) found different perceptions of generation (“boomers” in the US versus Chinese “cultural revolution” workers), age (“United States warm-but-incompetent older adults, versus Eastern pragmatic elder resource concerns”), tenure (“Western job-hopping versus Eastern filial-piety-based loyalty”) and experience, which is context dependent. (ibid).

In Sweden, Liff & Wikström (2020) seek to understand why people are retiring earlier than expected despite the existence of policies that increase the retirement age. Results show that HR routines that are deemed essential and rational influence this phenomenon, such as development feedback sessions, salary negotiations and internal recruitment. Yet, prioritising salary demands from younger employees and ceasing training efforts of older workers are seen as “normal”. The authors see a HR policy “redesign” as a feasible solution for organisations who wish to provide prolonged working life for older employees. Furthermore, observing the lack of studies on the influence of psychosocial working conditions on timing of retirement for older workers, Stengård et al. (2021) investigates if appropriate psycho-social working conditions may contribute to prolonged working lives. The authors considered seven waves (2006–2018) of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (N=6,000, observations=10,632). They concluded that allowing older workers to have control over their work tasks, providing opportunities for learning and using their skills, as much as rewarding and acknowledging their good performance, may facilitate their working life extension. Stengård et al. (2021) also found that job resources become increasingly more important with age.

In the context of longer working lives, Grünwald et al. (2021) highlight how key is the role played by organisations in helping reconcile older employees’ work and care-giving obligations. Analysing 1,651 Dutch older workers (age 60-65) who provide care at least once a week, the authors found that caregiving is perceived as less stressful by those who have access to phased retirement and organisational health support. Moreover, available organisational support reduces the level of care-giving stress and augments gratification.

The next section presents the literature related to end of career opportunities.

Table 6 below shows the 29 selected studies included in this section. It displays the authors of each study with the corresponding publishing journal as well as the country where the study was conducted or whether the manuscript refers to an overview of literature.

This section is divided into the following subsections: work-retirement transition; perceptions and effects of retirement among older workers; and the impact of an ageing workforce on society.

Table 7 below shows the 10 selected studies included in this section. It displays the authors of each study with the corresponding publishing journal as well as the country where the study was conducted or whether the manuscript refers to an overview of literature.

Age discrimination in hiring is a major obstacle for older workers to (re)join the job market (Berger, 2021; Neumark, 2022; Hebl et al., 2020; WHO, 2021). Many employment policies and practices have implicit age biases with regard to recruitment, selection, performance appraisal and assignment to training opportunities (Ciampa & Chernesky, 2021). In her study, Berger (2021) observes the preponderance of negative age stereotypes that manifest in recruitment and training opportunities over positive attitudes towards older workers. The author illustrates how older adults seeking employment perceived ageist attitudes in the hiring process, developing a stigma about their own age. Canadian employers examined participants’ CV in a discriminatory fashion, for example by selecting candidates to interview based on the year their degree was obtained or the number of years of experience they had. Moreover, participants felt that employers guessed their age during the job interview and used “ageist language during the hiring process” (Berger, 2021, p.73). Facing discrimination by potential employers, the participants in Berger’s study developed a series of strategies to reduce the influence of ageism on employment opportunities, such as keeping up to date with training (especially IT related), concealing age by eliminating previous work experience on the CV, making alterations towards a youthful appearance (i.e., hair dye), and reducing expectations and employment goals – that which Laliberte Rudman & Aldrich (2021) attributed as a “realistic” employment possibility, as portrayed by employers..

Based on longitudinal data from 2,835 participants (“baby-boomers”), Garthe & Hasselhorn (2021) provide evidence on occupational changes in the older workforce in Germany, highlighting that change among older workers is common (13.4% changed employer, 10.5% profession and 45.1% work tasks). Moreover, the unfulfilled desire to change was 17.6% for profession, 13.2% for employer and 8.9% for work. Garthe & Hasselhorn (2021) argue for the need of a greater attention to occupational change of older workers, particularly to those who would like to engage in change but perceive it as an impossible goal. Considering the Chinese and Mexican work contexts, Helleseter et al. (2020) found that employers explicitly use age and gender in specific requests for jobs, more specifically in less-skilled ones. The way employers make such request varies in accordance with task-specific differences in the “relative productivity of men and women”, revealing that ongoing skill upgrading can reduce “negative skill–targeting relationship” in those economies (p.428).

Previtali & Spedale (2021) see change in the organisational culture as the most efficient way to tackle ageism in the workplace, therefore nurturing a space where discriminatory age stereotypes are suppressed, allowing for the implementation of workplace policies based on equality and inclusion. Analysing the US Federal Senior Community Service Employment Program, Halvorsen et al. (2022) explores how “on-the-job training” to people over 55 positively influences participation and well-being. The implementation of health and well-being outcomes to achieve older employees’ satisfaction and performance is deemed as pivotal (ibid). In this sense, intergenerational initiatives in the workplace may augment not only well-being but also productivity of workers, as the next section shows.

Table 8 below shows the 8 selected studies included in this section. It displays the authors of each study with the corresponding publishing journal as well as the country where the study was conducted or whether the manuscript refers to an overview of literature.

Intergenerational relations and “mutual understanding” would be beneficial in tackling ageism or age discrimination in the workplace (Hsu et al., 2022; WHO, 2021). Studies have illuminated that focused intergenerational leadership has a positive impact on older employees’ work engagement. In a Slovenian study with 583 older employees, Rožman & Milfelner (2022) illustrate how important it is to consider the needs of older workers by applying age specific management tools, as also shown by Fasbender & Gerpott (2021) and Reed & Thomas (2021). Rožman & Milfelner (2022) found that the negative impact of intergenerational leadership on emotional burnout is stronger in large organisations than small ones.

Despite the understanding that intergenerational knowledge sharing is beneficial to organisational performance, Fasbender & Gerpott (2021) investigate the reasons why such a process is usually hindered in German organisations. Considering a sample of over 400 older workers, the latter perceive age discrimination as a detrimental factor to their job performance and capabilities, therefore reducing their interaction with younger workers. Fasbender & Gerpott’s (2021) findings dialogue with Fasbender & Drury (2021) and Yeung et al. (2021). Yet in Germany, Fasbender & Drury (2021) examine age-diverse friendship in the workplace and its related organisational consequences. The authors argue that age-diverse friendship may generate the perception of “oneness” by both younger and older actors (N=186). Such a perception offers a positive outcome (facilitation to cooperate, therefore slightly increasing job satisfaction and reducing turnover) as well as a negative one (occurrence of “interrole conflict” which leads to lower job satisfaction and turnover intentions). In Hong Kong, Yeung et al. (2021) explain that older workers manage their emotional reactions to organisational intergenerational conflicts by decreasing their attention to negative stimuli.

Jarrott & Lee (2022) point out to the need of intergenerational programme practitioners of having access to evaluation, interprofessional, and programming resources. Similarly, Jarrott et al. (2021) explain the overall difficulty to identify evidence-based intergenerational practices as “intergenerational program research frequently consists of small samples and pre-post analyses of attitudinal data with little attention to implementation characteristics” (p. 283).

In what follows, the issue of health and well-being of older workers is examined.

Table 9 below shows the 15 selected studies included in this section. It displays the authors of each study with the corresponding publishing journal as well as the country where the study was conducted or whether the manuscript refers to an overview of literature.

Social networks are associated with an individual’s health and well-being, playing a key role in active ageing (WHO, 2021). While work life facilitates the creation and maintenance of social networks, retirement may act in detriment to the latter’s expansion (Kauppi et al. 2021a; Lim-Soh & Lee 2022). In Korea, Lim-Soh & Lee (2022) examine retirees’ formal and informal social participation over time with interesting results. In comparison with their working peers, retirees gradually decrease the frequency in which they meet friends and abruptly decrease the frequency in which they attend social gatherings. Based on the findings, the authors point out the risk of social isolation and health deterioration among Korean retirees. In Finland, Kauppi et al. (2021a) studied the changes occurring in social networks (inner, middle and outer ties) across retirement and post retirement periods. The research involved 2,319 participants (84% women, mean age 63.2 years) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging Study and concluded that the number of outer circle ties decreased by 95% during the pre-retirement period – but not during the post retirement period. Changes in the inner and the middle circle were not significantly decreased. This suggests that reduction in social networks ties may be associated with retirement rather than aging. Findings from Kauppi et al. (2021a) corroborate Kauppi et al. (2021b). Yet drawing on data from the Finnish Retirement and Aging Study followed between 2014 and 2019 (with a sample of 4,014 Finnish public sector workers where 83% were women, aged 62.56±1.21), Kauppi et al. (2021b) concluded that a range of characteristics of social relationships, “such as having a working spouse, living alone, and high frequency of social engagement, predicted an extension of employment beyond the pensionable age” (p. 491).

Drawing on data from the 2013 and 2015 waves of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (encompassing 10,154 workers between the ages of 50 and 65 from 14 countries), Morris (2020) found that “loneliness was predictive of future work disability onset when adjusting for other factors in the disablement process” (p. 554). Moreover, depression may mediate the longitudinal relationship between loneliness and work disability. Therefore, addressing older workers’ loneliness decreases the risk of depression, which in turn diminishes disability onset.

Ågotnes et al. (2021) propose a greater involvement of volunteers to enhance health and care services for older adults in Norway, while Sellon (2021) endorses the same in the US, particularly for those with disabilities. Yet in the US, Voss et al. (2020) investigate the negative impacts on older workers’ physical and mental health brought by job loss. While late-career unemployment was not associated with decline in physical health in retirement, unemployment was related with involuntary retirement timing and mental health declines in the retirement period. Voss et al. (2020) conclude that late unemployment in one’s working career should therefore be addressed as a “public mental health concern” (p. 106). Moreover, considering data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) on Black workers aged 51 and older in the US (N = 924), Frazier & Brown (2022) examine the relation between work-related stress and insomnia. The results show that “job lock” (due to financial reasons) and “job stress” increased the occurrence of insomnia among Black workers, while participation in religious activities decreased the harmful effects of job lock. Interestingly, Frazier & Brown (2022) found that “religiosity exacerbates the effects of job stress on insomnia symptoms” (p. 424). Also drawing on the Health and Retirement Study, Schimmel et al. (2022) investigates the link between disability onset and occupational transition at age 55. The results show that 25% of workers experience a disability before retirement age. Compared to those who do not have a disability, disabled workers tend to stop working and go through more occupational changes. Schimmel et al. (2022) highlight the need for policies that help workers remain in their jobs despite their experience of new disabilities.

In a Mexican longitudinal study, Rodriguez & Saenz (2021) explores the relationship between work and cognitive functioning, investigating whether cognitive benefits are harvested by those who work later into life. Sourcing data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS with 7,375 adults age 50+) and assessing cognitive functioning by verbal learning, delayed recall and visual scanning, Rodriguez & Saenz (2021) concluded that working actively can be “associated with cognitive performance only in context with occupation” (p.1). The decline in verbal learning occurs faster for domestic workers than administrative staff, salespeople and educators, illuminating that either protection or harm of cognitive functioning depends on the type of work being performed.

In the Netherlands, Mutambudzi & Henkens (2020), Vanajan et al. (2020), and Scheibe (2021) examine the health and well-being of older workers with poor health conditions. Mutambudzi & Henkens (2020) investigate the context of 6,793 adults aged 60-65 years and their relationship with chronic health conditions (CHCs). Based on the premise that there will be an increase in the percentage of older workers with CHCs performing demanding tasks, the results were, as follows: “1) sleep disorders and arthritis were significantly associated with general stress. 2) respiratory disorders, sleep disorders, and arthritis were significantly associated with physical demands. 3) diabetes, sleep disorders, and arthritis were significantly associated with emotional demands” (ibid, p.499). The authors advocate public health interventions in the workplace to guarantee physical and mental health as well as productivity of older workers. In parallel, Vanajan et al. (2020) analyse how health related working limitations and vitality influence the retirement preferences of older workers experiencing chronic health conditions. While older workers with arthritis and cardiovascular disease may retire early due to health-related work limitations, older workers with sleep and psychological disorders may retire early due to low levels of vitality. Further on, Scheibe (2021) investigates if advanced age gives employees an advantage when facing negative work experiences through their higher emotion-regulation skills. As negative work events impact on attention, motivation, and well-being, the research recruited 123 older workers (aged 22 to 63 years) who then wrote 1,092 daily reports on “affective work events, emotion regulation, attentional focus, persistence, and end-of-day affect” for two weeks (p.872). The findings showed that the association of high intensity events with emotion-regulation goals were reduced at higher age, demonstrating older workers’ greater resilience to daily stress.

In Australia, Doan et al. (2022) explore the number of hours relatively healthy older workers can work before compromising their health. Considering older workers aged 50–70 years and using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA 2005-2016 with 44,900 participants), Doan et al. (2022) explain that age is not the most influential limiting factor for how many hours older adults can work. Rather, their health and the types of jobs are critical, and likely widen the gap in who ages successfully or not. Crucially relevant to the well-being of workers is the experience of an (ideally) ageism-free work context, as follows.

Table 10 below shows the 22 selected studies included in this section. It displays the authors of each study with the corresponding publishing journal as well as the country where the study was conducted or whether the manuscript refers to an overview of literature.

“PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) used to bill itself as “the place to work for millennials” with a “strikingly young” workforce. The firm’s unabashedly direct appeal for youth landed them in court with a class action lawsuit. In the relentless pursuit of the young that helps them feel like they’re shoring up their DI (digital intelligence), many companies have put themselves at risk not just of lawsuits, but of creating exclusionary workplaces that marginalize women, minorities, and, yes, middle-aged workers.” (Conley, 2018, p.410)”

Agreeing with the WHO’s (2021) concept that age is a fluid rather than strictly chronological phenomenon, Goecke & Kunze (2020) characterise subjective age as an ever-changing social construct, varying “betweenand within-person” throughout time. Currently, based on the fact that older workers are often the target of discrimination in the workplace (Axelrad, 2021; Berger, 2021; Corrigan & Morgan, 2020; Fasbender & Gerpott, 2021; Hebl et al., 2020; Kreiner et al., 2022; North, 2022; WHO, 2021), Taylor & Earl (2021) identify the emergence of a “fake age advocacy” that hinders an informed, public discussion on older workers’ employment in Australia. Aiming at providing a base for a responsible debate on this thematic, the authors elaborate the following “five underlying principles” concerning older workers:

“(…) countering myths concerning the extent and nature of age barriers in the labour market; avoiding and challenging the use of age stereotypes in making the business case for older workers’ employment; recognition that age interacts in complex ways with a range of other factors in determining people’s experiences of the labour market; challenging public understanding that is grounded in the notion that generational conflict is inevitable; and discarding traditional notions of the life course in order to overcome disjunctions and contradictions that hamper efforts to encourage and support longer working lives (Taylor & Earl, 2021, p.1).”

Combining 33 quantitative and 21 qualitative studies, Cebola et al. (2021) present a systematic literature review on work-related ageism. The multifaceted, transversal nature of ageism in the workplace is observed, as it is present in various work contexts, such as IT, advertising, financial, education, health care, journalism, hospitality, employment tribunal court and human resources. Ageism is detectable in a plurality of aspects, such as obstacles in the hiring process, employability and performance evaluation of older workers. While older workers may suffer mentally and physically due to ageism, organisational frameworks, such as “age management” and “management by generation” (Reed & Thomas, 2021) are still scarcely used. Intergenerational activities are seen as effective to tackle ageism, changing the overall perception of older workers as inefficient (Cebola et al., 2021).

In Italy, Manzi et al. (2021) study with over 8,000 participants analyses the combined consequences of “age-based” and “gender stereotype threat” on work identity processes and work performance of older adults. The results indicate that ageism negatively impacts older workers’ authenticity as well as their sense of organisational identification. For women over 50, ageism and gender stereotypes are twice more likely to appear in the workplace than for men in the same age range (ibid). Yet in Italy, Previtali & Spedale (2021) hold a discussion on age as an influential “ordering”, “divisive” element” in the organisational context, defining hierarchies, career paths, and the employer-employee relationship. Through analysis of video recordings of performance appraisal interviews at a labour union, and based on the idea of age as a “constructed social category”, they identify three ways of “doing age” (p.01): “quantification (e.g., number of years in the organisation), ageing within the organisation, and age-group membership identification (e.g., ‘young’ vs. ‘old’)” (ibid, authors’ italics). Previtali & Spedale (2021) argue that ageism in work relations acts in detriment of a modern, inclusive workplace, highlighting the malleable social context through and by which ageism is enacted and suggesting that the latter is reproduced by the practices of both employers and employees via a given organisational culture that allows the organisation to function.

Corroborating Manzi et al. (2021) and Previtali & Spedale (2021), Kleissner & Jahn (2020a) observe that ageism can lead to discrimination and low productivity in the German context. The results of the Implicit Association Test show “a stable, moderate implicitly measurable preference for younger over older workers” (p.01). Yet, while younger workers were positively classified as to performance and adaptability, older workers scored well on competence, reliability, and warmth. Furthermore, Kleissner & Jahn (2020b) investigate the main elements of work-related age stereotypes (performance, adaptability, reliability, and warmth) and how they vary across 180 nurses aged between 19 and 63 in Germany. While older nurses were perceived as “more competent, less physically strong, and less adaptable”, younger nurses were characterised as “less reliable and less warm”. Furthermore, “in-group bolstering” occurred in all age groups, albeit accentuated among older professionals (ibid, p.126).

Hebl et al. (2020) and Kreiner et al. (2022) observe how the particularities of one’s cultural and organisational context affect stigma and discrimination. Kreiner et al. (2022) discuss how stigma is an effect of workplace related issues (such as occupation and status) and/or relates to personal characteristics, such as age and disability. On the other hand, Previtali & Spedale (2021) expose that employers’ ageist attitudes towards older workers is based on the “negative attributes socially attached to older persons as a homogenous group” (p.01) rather than emerging from the particularities of the work context. Furthermore, Hebl et al. (2020) conduct a review of the history, current state, and future of modern discrimination in organisations in the US, bringing the following four key lessons: (1) the number of older workers keep increasing as people are working longer before retiring, (2) despite evidence of the benefits older workers may bring to organisations, they are seen as less productive, more resistant to change, and more costly, (3) negative stereotypes in relation to older workers are “deeply embedded”, and many experience age discrimination at work or during recruitment. At work, Blackstone (2021, p.37) shows that her study participants experienced offensive agerelated joking (about themselves and others), “comments or behaviors that demeaned participants’ age; and unwanted questions about participants’ private lives”. In addition, participants were “isolated from important work activities” (ibid, p.37).

With a sample of 1,619 participants, Hsu et al. (2022) examine the relationship of active ageing behaviour with the perceptions of older adults across Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. While the Taiwanese attributed more importance to health, social participation, and security, Koreans and Japanese people favoured social connectedness and work. Moreover, Japanese display more negative attitudes towards older people than Taiwanese people, and Koreans were less prone to live with older adults than the Taiwanese. Similar to Hebl et al.’s (2020) findings in the US, public stigma of ageing was observable in the three analysed countries, where intergenerational relations and “mutual understanding” would be beneficial in tackling ageism or age discrimination (Hsu et al., 2022).

Kim et al. (2021) compared the occurrence of ageism in 15 OECD countries using the Comparative Macro-Level Ageism Index. The results showed that Turkey presented the highest ageism score, while Japan displayed the lowest due to its favourable conditions for older adults’ economic and health status as well as social participation. In the workplace, South Korea was indicated as the least likely country to engage in discrimination, albeit it scored high in discrimination against older adults as per economic status. In Japan, Sugisawa (2022) considered four models to examine the psychosocial predictors of discrimination against older workers (Intergroup Contact Theory, Knowledge–Attitude–Behaviour Model, Terror Management Theory and Frustration–Aggression Theory). The study suggests that enhancing the quality of interactions and, at the same time, reducing bad interactions with older workers can contribute to lower levels of discrimination against the latter.

As an example of the multidirectional nature of ageism (WHO, 2021), Crozier & Woolnough (2020) point out how ageism experienced by young academics in universities contribute to the former’s development of a conflict between internal and external perceptions of required identities, imposter syndrome, and feelings of marginalisation in the workplace. Furthermore, van der Horst & Vickerstaff (2021) propose a redefinition of the term “ageism” as a way to distinguish it from “ableism” (the discrimination in favour of able-bodied people). While seeing a close relation between those two nomenclatures, the authors claim that making such a differentiation would allow for the design of more specific and effective policy on how to support older workers.

This chapter discussed the following predefined themes: (1) macro level policy on older workers (the influence of policy on the individual perception of healthy ageing; older adults providing care; unemployment among older adults; policies concerning older workers; tackling ageism in the workplace), (2) organisational policy on older workers, (3) end of career opportunities (work-retirement transition; perceptions and effects of retirement among older workers; the impact of an ageing workforce on society), (4) recruitment, training and promotion of older adults, (5) intergenerational initiatives in organisations, (6) health and well-being of older workers, and (7) experiences of ageism in the workplace.

Recommendations: 

Redesign and enact policy to (1) enhance the understanding and scope of healthy, active ageing; (2) augment social security networks; (3) facilitate working life extension; (4) increase awareness of, and damage under anti-discrimination legislation; (5) support more evidence-based research on the implementation of public-private partnerships, gathering more knowledge on (a) the costs and benefits for older adults, (b) factors influencing their decision making process towards employment continuity, (c) as well as their functional capacity and performance needs.

There is a real need to consider the socio-demographic changes in the workforce as well as to support the process of population ageing, as they affect retirement structures, employment and social policies, labour market trends, global workforces, work environments, and social insurance programs workplaces (Ciampa & Chernesky, 2021). The increasing institutional concern with active ageing in western industrialised nations, which enhances the visibility of older adults and their role in society, appears as a positive shift towards the recognition of older people’s human rights and productive capabilities. Active aging policies may reduce the public stigma toward older adults (Hsu et al., 2022), however, it is relevant to increase the understanding and scope of healthy ageing not to marginalise those who are unable to age healthy (Mandville-Anstey et al., 2022).

Reducing stigma and challenging stereotypes of older people should occur in a faster and more substantial manner. Older workers are still encouraged to be “realistic” as to their limited, precarious employment possibilities. Moreover, prioritising salary demands from younger employees is seen as “normal” as much as ceasing training efforts of older workers (Laliberte Rudman & Aldrich, 2021; Liff & Wikströ, 2020). The productive ageing policies and programs built upon public-private partnerships are an effective way of moving forward, albeit far from being an all-encompassing solution. The state has the responsibility to take comprehensive action as to more structural issues, such as inequality, poverty and the scarcity of job opportunities within the universe of older workers (Uribe & Flores, 2021). After the age of 50, workers find themselves at risk of unemployment given the increasing higher retirement age in Europe as well as the new required skills to engage with technological advancements (Melesk, 2021). Factors such as good health, the perception that older workers are of value, flexibility and choice, and the need for an ongoing conversation across the life course facilitate working life extension. On the other hand, poor health, negative impacts of work on health, ageism, and a lack of respect and support are the perceived barriers (Edge et al., 2021). Research has demonstrated that “health does not change significantly for those who formally retire but worsens considerably for those who leave the labour market for other reasons” (Pirani et al., 2022, p.221). For those who intend to work while receiving a pension, the reasons for doing so may be (1) financially driven, (2) status-driven, (3) contact and fun-driven, and (4) generativity-driven. Policies that remove legal and institutional barriers to extended working lives may be only partially successful without changes to cultural attitudes about older workers’ employment potential (Handley & den Outer, 2021; Hess et al., 2021).

Furthermore, observing the holistic reality of older workers, it is paramount to enact and redesign policies and support systems that allow one to concomitantly manage work and family life, which may include caregiving responsibilities. As people may become grandparents while still employed, there is a conflict between the roles of active grandparent and worker, which warrants the creation of a comprehensive social security network. Research has shown that governmental support to childcare may facilitate the retention of grandparents in the labour market. Additionally, it is crucial to enact policies that help workers remain in their jobs despite their experience of new disabilities (Koreshi & Alpass, 2022; Hyde et al., 2022; Floridi, 2022a).

The general population’s lack of knowledge on demographic changes, ageing labour force participation, health status, and retirement age impact on the collective perception towards older workers, which in turn stands as a possible explanation for the obstacles the latter face. Therefore, it is recommended the careful elaboration of educational measures and policies to increase employers’ awareness of the official data on the ageing workforce in all its detail (Axelrad, 2021). As observed by the WHO (2021), increasing public awareness about anti-discrimination legislation seems to be the most effective way to tackle ageism, guaranteeing the existence of healthy workplace environments. The positive, instrumental effects of policy on communities are conditioned to the overall knowledge that anti-discrimination legal frameworks exist and penalties will apply in case of deviation from the former. Individuals need to feel safe to report ageism cases, particularly given the very low number of people reporting discrimination on the grounds of age in the workplace (Kellaway, 2022). Furthermore, as much as Neumark (2022) recommends the adoption of increasing damages under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in the US, Ireland can act similarly in regard to the Employment Equality Acts (1998-2015).

Ireland has a strong network of organisations for older adults. Social activism on older people’s rights and well-being should continue, influencing the overall perception of communities as well as reducing stigma of older people. The media and the educational sector also play a key role in such a process. According to the WHO (2021), it is the combination of efforts that may harvest the best results towards a culture that respects and values older people. While the media hold the agential means to portray older people in a more inclusive manner – therefore increasing empathy – educational interventions across primary, postprimary, higher, and adult education are not only effective but also affordable. The WHO (2021) highlights the heterogeneity of such educational initiatives that can be built upon elements of intergenerational learning and human rights, “such as those that seek to transmit information and knowledge in a classroom setting or online and empathyenhancing activities that include role-play, simulation games and immersive virtual reality” (WHO, 2021, p.120).

Recommendations:

What we need

1. Redesign and enact policy and regulations to 

   1. accommodate the needs of older workers

   2. support and encourage older workers’ work performance, intrinsic motivation, and physical and psychological health

   3. eliminate prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination against them

2.  engage with older workers rather than removing them from the organisation

3. promote organisational intergenerational “oneness”

4. eliminate “age norming of jobs”

How we can do it

• Offer phased retirement options (progressive reduction of hours until retirement)

• Offer flexible work schedules (part-time, full-time, allocation of hours) · Offer “flex location” (remote mode of work)

• Facilitate intergenerational interaction (older workers can coach and or mentor younger workers and vice-versa. This promotes the benefits of well-being and sense of purpose for both older and younger employees, therefore increasing commitment and productivity)

• Allow job crafting (also known as job alignment, HR departments can provide an invaluable service by matching older workers with jobs that correspond to their expertise and creative thinking skills and that ignite their intrinsic motivation to be more innovative and productive in their jobs)

• Provide conflict resolution structures

• Provide ongoing feedback on performance

• Promote visible leadership related to ageing workforce issues

• Offer high quality training to all employees (including CPD for older workers)

• Adapt the physical environment according to older workers’ needs (i.e., by providing ergonomic structures, adequate lighting and acoustics)

• Build an ethics framework, communicating it thoroughly throughout the organisation. Organisational values are clearly defined as well as the consequences from their deviation. Ethical core values would help shape all phases of human resource activity, including goal setting, allocation of resources, gathering and dispersal of communication, evaluation of performances and job promotion. Ethics training and education should be incorporated as an integral element of all employees’ professional development, and the ethics framework should go through ongoing review.

All these recommendations are based on the results of the systematic literature review (Manzi et al., 2021; Reed & Thomas, 2021; Ciampa & Chernesky, 2021; Taylor & Earl, 2021), partially following the framework established by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) (as shown in Ciampa & Chernesky, 2021) and the ethics framework developed by Woolever (2021). The recommendations fall under the umbrella of the abstract but essential idea of organisational culture and its influence on employees’ well-being and productivity (Schein, 1989). An inevitably ageing workforce illuminates the relevance of the development of organisational intergenerational structures and age-friendly policies. It is false to believe the notion that older workers cost more to, and produce less in organisations (Ciampa & Chernesky, 2021). Many employment policies and practices have implicit age biases with regard to recruitment, selection, performance appraisal and assignment to training opportunities. Therefore, there is a real demand to change these unfair organisational policies. According to Ciampa & Chernesky, (2021, p.95), “it is ageism, rather than labor cost and performance considerations, that is the reason corporations force out older workers”.

Although the detailed analysis of each organisational context is paramount to the development of an age-friendly work environment, it is possible to imagine a series of strategies that can work in a variety of professional environments. The most important step is to establish a solid organisational ethics framework, as previously displayed. Over the past two decades, several companies have attempted to implement various “integrity strategies” with varying degrees of success, such as General Dynamics, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Martin Marietta, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, and Hewlett-Packard (Blackstone, 2021; Ciampa & Chernesky; 2021). Research has shown that the key concern with an ethical organisation lies in understanding ethics as a core value rather than a mere complement or appendix of organisational life. Understandably, it would be naively ambitious to view the organisational code of ethics as a “panacea that will prevent all forms of unethical conduct or personal indiscretions” (Woolever, 2021, p.119). However, ethics frameworks act as a medium where organisations may manage unethical attitudes and or behaviours, ensuring a fair, responsible performance (ibid).

Previtali & Spedale (2021) observe that employers’ ageist attitudes towards older workers is based on the “negative attributes socially attached to older persons as a homogenous group” (p.01). The systematic review of the literature on the universe of older workers sheds light on two convergent but slightly distinct approaches to help thinking about the creation of a fair, age-friendly workplace: one proposed by Manzi et al. (2021), and the other presented by Reed & Thomas (2021). According to Manzi et al. (2021), workers must be assessed on the basis of their skills, competences, motivation and output – not on age itself. On the other hand, Reed & Thomas’s (2021) highlight “management by generation” as a positive management tool towards achieving inclusive organisations. Despite our acknowledgment of the benefits emerging from matching employees’ characteristics with the job specifications (job crafting), we, the authors of this report, would rather favour Manzi’s et al. (2021) approach – which dialogues with Taylor & Earl’s (2021) and Woolever (2021): to try reducing the significance attributed to “age barriers” or “age norming”. In this sense, the agency of age would be decreased when producing social interaction outcomes, allowing for other more important organisational related concerns to receive increased management attention. In this way, stereotypical views on older workers would become progressively less relevant in the organisational space and consequently, within the organisational culture. However, we understand our view on this issue as a futuristic possibility, given, inter alia, the high occurrence of ageism in cognitive, emotional and behavioural dimensions around the globe (WHO, 2021). Therefore, it is the experimental combination of age-friendly, fair approaches within organisations (Manzi et al., 2021; Fasbender & Drury, 2021; Reed & Thomas, 2021; Ciampa & Chernesky, 2021; Taylor & Earl, 2021; Woolever, 2021) that may accomplish the best results.

The previously discussed paragraphs bring conclusions and recommendations towards setting an ethical workplace, requiring time, labour and financial investment. Costs are a reality. They are however compensated by the generation of greater outcomes in relation to employee well-being and productivity. Moreover, ethical organisations would positively reverberate ethical behaviour through society more broadly. If the goal of setting fairer workplaces alone is not enough to promote real leadership change and investment in age-friendly organisations, the economic rationale remains unshakeable: the growing number of older workers is a reality. They demand a fair workplace where they can be productive, and where their age does not make them a victim of discrimination.