Rhode Island is a state full of hard-working people. Understandably, these individuals want to feel valued by employers. However, some workers are unfortunately targeted based on factors outside their control. One of the most prevalent types of workplace discrimination is ageism.
While age discrimination against older workers can be hard to prove, the following might indicate that you are being targeted:
Your duties change for the worse.
Sometimes, changing your duties or role at work can be a good thing. For instance, you could receive a promotion for doing more things at work that comes with better pay. Unfortunately, certain employers will attempt to eliminate older workers by intentionally giving them unpleasant or grueling tasks. These tasks are often unrelated to why a company initially hired an employee and might even feel demeaning.
Your performance-based review results tank.
Another sign of potential ageism involves performance-related measures. It’s not ageist for a business to regularly conduct employee reviews. However, the situation differs if a company only reviews older employees negatively. Getting negative feedback without clearly understanding why this happened might be ageism.
Older employees are thinning out.
It’s easy to be in your own world, especially while you’re at work. If you suspect age discrimination is happening where you work, zoom out and look at your current colleagues. Some companies gradually weed out older employees through buyouts or layoffs. Seeing fewer older workers could be a sign of workplace discrimination. Companies that gradually lay off or fire older workers will start replacing them with younger employees.
If you suspect you’re the victim of age discrimination, document the instances that made you feel this way. Reporting these situations to a supervisor is also a good idea.