Not only gender or religion – age can also be a reason for discrimination at work. According to a survey, quite a few people in Germany feel that they are affected by this.
Worse chances in the application process or disadvantages in promotion: According to a survey, more than one in four current or former employees over 50 have had the feeling of being discriminated against in their working lives because of their age. Around 28 percent said this in the survey commissioned by the career network Xing, which was made available to the German Press Agency. Examples they cited included being assigned tasks that were below their requirements profile, being restricted in their areas of activity or being disadvantaged in promotion.
For the survey, 1,000 people in Germany aged 50 and over were interviewed by the market research institute Appinio in a representative online survey at the beginning of March.
In addition, a good quarter of those surveyed had the feeling that they had been discriminated against or disadvantaged by a potential employer because of their age during the application process: around 28 percent answered the question with “yes” or “rather yes”. Around 72 percent had not yet had this feeling and answered “rather no” or “no”.
Good opportunities for older employees on the labour market
But what is meant by discrimination? Enzo Weber from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg explained that the word “discrimination” actually means “distinction”. “But the way it is used in the German language, it naturally means an unjustified disadvantage based on some characteristic that should not actually play a role there.” One such characteristic could be age.
With regard to the shortage of skilled workers, Weber sees good opportunities for older employees on the job market. Skilled workers are now in short supply, as they have never been since the economic miracle. This means that more and more potential is being used that was previously left unused or perhaps even deliberately postponed. “Let’s think of the early retirement policy of the 1990s at a time of mass unemployment. That is really over. Things have changed,” said the scientist. Nevertheless, there are still things like the “golden handshake”, i.e. severance payments for early termination of employment.
Source: Stern
