Stigmatising senior citizens at the workplace
Ageism can thwart efforts by senior citizens to continue optimising their talents
KUALA LUMPUR: Ageism or prejudice against older persons is alive and well in society.
Often, at the workplace, they are made to feel unwelcome by their younger counterparts who accuse them of usurping their job opportunities and promotions.
And, any rumour of a hike in the retirement age is met with vehement protests and comments like, “Already old, don’t they want to rest?” or “When will these old people retire, fed up with looking at their face”.
It is usual for senior citizens to encounter ageist comments at the workplace, according to Shuib Dahaban, 73, who is president of the Association for Lifelong Learning of Older Persons Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
“Our members always share their experiences (of being discriminated against) during our discussion sessions.
“Many people out there are stuck to the ideology that senior citizens are unproductive and useless and are not needed in the community,” the former principal of Sekolah Menengah Victoria Institution told Bernama.
Some of the association members who wished to continue working due to financial constraints were, however, finding it difficult to get job opportunities due to their age, he added.
The association was established in 2010 by the participants of a pilot programme on Lifelong Learning Initiative for the Elderly that was started by Prof Dr Tengku Aizan Hamid, director of the Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing ( MyAgeing) at Universiti Putra Malaysia.
In fact, the enthusiastic response to the programme led to the establishment of the University of the Third Age Malaysia ( U3A) in 2007.
U3A is an international organisation that embodies the principles of lifelong learning and encourages retirees to pick up new skills and share their knowledge, skills and interests in a friendly environment.
U3A Malaysia, which is based on the British and French models,
Our members always share their experiences (of being discriminated against) during our discussion sessions.
offers a diverse range of short-term courses on adult development and ageing, healthy lifestyles, exercise, language, art and craft, gardening, cooking, computing, and dance and music.
The association, which now has 300 members comprising retirees from various professions, promotes healthy ageing by encouraging its members to attend courses and learn new skills. Stigma Shuib said the stigma surrounding older people did not only exist at the workplace but also in other areas.
“For example, if a senior citizen wants to learn a new skill like playing the violin, some people are bound to pass snide remarks that it’s a waste for that person to learn to play the instrument,” he said, adding that such a mentality defeated the nation’s objective of building a community of productive senior citizens.
The prevailing negative environment and prejudice towards senior citizens prevent this group from optimising their capabilities, thus causing them to feel frustrated and unwanted which can jeopardise their emotional health.
The situation becomes more critical when their children move out of the family house and they are hit by the empty nest syndrome; all that loneliness they feel adds to their sense of desolation.
According to the Fourth Malaysian Population and Family Survey carried out by the National Population and Family Development Board, that was matched with the outcome of the 2010 population and housing census, about 23 per cent or 538,000 out of the 2.4 million senior citizens in Malaysia suffered from the empty nest syndrome.
This is why the Association for Lifelong Learning of Older Persons Kuala Lumpur and Selangor feels it is pertinent to erase the stigma towards senior citizens as this would pave the way for the creation of a conducive environment where older people could realise their potentials.
Shuib said the association, on its part, has been collaborating with community colleges and the National Cultural Arts and Heritage Academy to offer shortterm courses in music and other fields to senior citizens.
“After they complete their courses, they are given a certificate.
“We have a member who opened his own bakery after attending a culinary course as he had earlier failed to get a job due to the stigma (towards older persons).
“We also have members who have become entrepreneurs,” he said. Age stereotypes MyAgeing fellow researcher Dr Jariah Masud, meanwhile, said age stereotypes were reinforced in a negative workplace environment where the majority of employees were either biased or prejudiced against older workers.
They tend to label the senior citizens as burdensome, stubborn and non-compliant and even claim that they perform badly at work and find it difficult to learn new things. What is more shocking is that such assumptions are also shared by the human resource personnel.
Studies and briefings conducted by MyAgeing since 2015 showed that the human resource departments of several companies were reluctant to employ senior citizens, said Jariah.
In fact, when advertising vacancies, they blatantly state that candidates should be aged below 40 although the posts were suitable for senior citizens too.
“During my briefings with various companies with regard to our study on mature employees, I was often shocked to hear what they had to say.
“They (company officials) told me the objective of our institute’s study, which was to encourage senior citizens to continue working, went against their own human resource philosophy of not continuing the services of their elderly workers,” she said.
She added that it would be a loss if companies replaced their retired employees with new, inexperienced workers who would not be as skilled as their predecessors.
Pointing out that rehiring retired workers would not close employment and promotional opportunities for the younger generation, Jariah said the people should realise that Malaysia’s older population was growing rapidly while the number of young people was declining.
“This is why it’s important that we continue to benefit from their (senior citizens’) experience and potential,” she added.
Shuib Dahaban, president of the Association for Lifelong Learning of Older Persons Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Low awareness The perception that senior citizens are unproductive has led to many people remaining unaware that Malaysia is set to become an ageing nation by 2035 when 15 per cent of its population are classified as senior citizens or aged 60 and above.
Jariah said when she and her team explained to human resource officers about Malaysia’s impending status as an ageing nation and why it was important to keep senior citizens in employment, they did not seem to know about it.
“These people (human resource officers) don’t have much exposure to the activities of this group of people and think that when one gets old, they become sick, helpless and poor,” she said.
As a matter of fact, a survey carried out by MyAgeing in 2016 on care services for senior citizens found that only 0.04 per cent of them were either destitute or disabled and stayed at nursing homes.
The same survey also revealed that healthy and capable senior citizens made up the biggest group, thus proving that there were many people among the older generation who were still fit and active. Environment Jariah said the families of senior citizens should also be supportive and allow them to work or become active members of the community.
“Some children don’t want their parents to work because they are worried other people may think that they are not taking care of them.
“But the truth is their parents are still capable of channelling their knowledge to the community.
“If their parents are not employed, the children should encourage them to get involved in community activities,” she added.
In this respect, the government and private sectors, as well as non-governmental organisations, should provide the space and opportunities for senior citizens to involve themselves in various activities.
Currently, services for senior citizens are mainly targeted at the poor while there is a lack of facilities and support services for the healthier and more independent ones.
“Clubs and activity centres set up under the Social Welfare Department need to be activated to provide senior citizens with an avenue to improve their wellbeing.
"Opportunities for lifelong learning in urban and rural areas also need to be improved,” added Jariah. — Bernama