SHRM Testifies on Need to Address Perceptions of Older Workers; SHRM Older Workers Survey Presented to Senate Special Committee on Aging 9/2/2003
From: Frank Scanlan, 703-535-6043, fscanlan@shrm.org, Jen Jorgensen, 703-535-6356, jjorgensen@shrm.org, or Will Gray, 703-535-6012, wlgray@shrm.org, all of the Society for Human Resource Managment, http://www.shrm.org/press/ ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 2 -- Tomorrow, Debra Cohen, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president of Knowledge Development at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) will address the Senate Special Committee on Aging regarding new SHRM research on the perceptions of hiring and retaining older workers. The hearing will be Wednesday, September 3, at 2:30 pm in the Dirksen Senate Building, room 628. Individuals who are age 40 and older are protected by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). "From a legal perspective, this means that as workers age, they should be able to get, retain and advance in jobs. As a practical matter though, organizations are still in need of dealing with perceptions surrounding older workers and understanding stereotypes that may exist," says Cohen. The August 2003 cover story of HR Magazine reports that many older workers have faced age discrimination from employers. Some older workers feel mistreated or ignored in hiring and promotion. The article suggests that it is detrimental for organizations to undervalue the importance of recruiting, retaining and promoting older workers. SHRM's survey clearly defined the value of older workers and the results support the argument for more active recruitment and investment of older workers. In the SHRM(r) 2003 Older Workers Survey, 72 percent of HR professionals listed "more willing to work different schedules," "serve as mentors," and "invaluable experience," as advantages to hiring older workers. "We've found that the advantages of hiring older workers were far stronger than any reported disadvantages," Cohen reported. For more information on the Older Workers Survey, contact SHRM. ------ The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 175,000 individual members, the Society's mission is to serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most essential and comprehensive resources available. As an influential voice, the Society's mission is also to advance the human resource profession to ensure that HR is recognized as an essential partner in developing and executing organizational strategy. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 500 affiliated chapters within the United States and members in more than 100 countries. Visit SHRM Online at http://www.shrm.org. |