The ageism debate

India will gain from raising the retirement age

Whether it is ageism or reverse ageism, India has an age problem in the workplace. A new study by recruitment agency Randstad, which surveyed nearly 1,000 respondents, has revealed that 40 per cent of employees had either experienced or witnessed age-related discrimination in the workplace. Overall 42 per cent of employees below 55 experienced or witnessed age-related discrimination against 29 per cent for those over 55. A little over half the employees in the survey said they felt valued versus 63 per cent for those over 55. This asymmetry extends to perceptions of compensation, with 32 per cent of those under 35 saying they did not feel valued or adequately compensated. These biases creep into job advertisements, with 61 per cent of the respondents reporting qualifying criteria specifying age or years of experience, with multinationals leading from the front on this metric.