Age and the Technology Sector: Noam Scheiber Calls Out the "Brutality" of Ageism

In a lengthy article in The New Republic by Noam Scheiber writes about how "Silicon Valley has become one of the most ageist places in America." According to Scheiber, "tech luminaries who otherwise pride themselves on their dedication to meritocracy don’t think twice about deriding the not-actually-old." As he said on NPR: "On the engineering side, 35 really starts to be considered quite old. The computer languages change so quickly that people are quickly perceived to be out of date. On the entrepreneur side, people value experience a little more but there, even 40 and over tends to be perceived as quite old."

When taken to its logical extreme, a tech sector that discriminates in favor of the young might produce an economy with some revolutionary ways of keeping ourselves entertained and in touch at all hours of the day and night. But it would be an economy that shortchanged other essential sectors, like, say, biotech or health care.

Source: The New Republic "The Brutal Ageism of Tech: Years of experience, plenty of talent, completely obsolete
" (March 23, 2014)

Other sources: NPR All Things Considered "Weaned On Youth, Silicon Valley Keeps Older Workers On Sidelines" (March 24, 2014); CNBC "How Silicon Valley discriminates against older workers...to its own peril"; BigThink "The Brutal Ageism of Silicon Valley"

Israel: Research Finds that Professional "Vitality" Peaks at Ages 50 to 59

According to the results of research announced by the University of Haifa, managers demonstrate their highest levels of professional vitality in their 50's. In an investigation of the functionality of high-tech, engineering, and infrastructure executives, Dr. Shmuel Grimland, Prof. Yehuda Baruch, and Prof. Eran Vigoda-Gadot, found that in terms of vitality--defined as " the ability to carry out tasks with passion, vigor, and competence, and to gain satisfaction from his or her work performance", advancing age plays a significant role.

Specifically, the older the manager, the higher his or her professional vitality, reaching a peak at 50-59 and 57 being the highest point in the sample group. Then, the manager’s vitality then begins to drop.

"Our study shows that providing tools for workers to improve their professional vitality will also improve their satisfaction and will help cultivate resourceful and innovative workers. This indicates that an organization should make it a priority to provide such tools. Workers’ vitality ‘fuels’ the success of the organization, and the fact that professional vitality is preserved and actually rises well into one’s 50s indicates that organizations investing in this aspect of the workplace will be able to benefit from productive workers for many years," the researchers concluded.

Source: University of Haifa Press Release (July 15, 2012)

Survey: Adoption of Social Media at Work by Generations

Gen-Y doesn't have the lock on using social networks at work. According to a survey commissioned by Citrix Online, Gen X workers make up the majority of those who use social networking for business, followed closely by Boomers aged 55 and older, while Gen Y's use of collaborative technology lagged the others. Among the findings by Forrester Consulting, which conducted the survey of 797 "information workers" (anyone who uses a computer for work) evenly split between the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia:

• Gen Y is least likely to share information via text message (26%, compared to 47% of those aged 55 and older), and least likely to use video conferencing, video chat and web conferencing tools
• Gen Y is least likely to think meetings are efficient, with only 29% of Gen Y workers thinking meetings used to decide on a course of action are very efficient, compared to 45% of Older Boomers
• 79% of those aged 55 and over think it's important to have in-person meetings, compared to 65% of Gen Y

Source: Citrix Online Press Release (October 19, 2010)

United Kingdom: Age Guide for Employers in Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies

SEMTA, the Sector Skills Council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies, has produced a booklet in collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to guide and advise manufacturing organizations on how to comply with age discrimination regulation as well as how to ensure an age diverse workforce that will nurture future growth.

The booklet ("Age isn't an issue) provides guidance on a range of workforce issues including recruitment, development, flexible working, and retirement. Among other things, the guide encourages not only equality for job applications and opportunities within the workplace but also encourages employers to be even handed in the way they make vocational training, flexible working, and continuous professional development available.

Source: Manufacturing News "Aging workforce problems" (July 6, 2010)

Related Matter: Satellite Today "U.S. Satellite Industry Addresses its Aging Workforce Issues" (July 6, 2010)

Remote Service as Means of Bridging Knowledge Gap in Manufacturing Industries Beset by Aging Workforces

One tool being put forward to assist manufacturers faced with rapidly aging workforces, approaching retirement age, and insufficient younger, skilled workers to replace them is to use technology to bridge knowledge gaps. Thus, in an article in Industry Week, Brian Anderson, Vice President of Marketing, Axeda, advocates the use of machine-to-machine (M2M) technology to provide remote service of equipment.

His advice follows up on research published in Manufacturing Insights, "The Aging Workforce--Impact and Opportunity" (April 2008), demonstrating that the gap between retiring workers and younger workers is characterized as a knowledge deficit and recommending technologies that can help bridge the divide, and initiate seamless workforce transition.

Anderson argues that with a remote service solution in place, "equipment up-time is increased, resulting in fewer field service visits to customers. This reduces personnel needs, and the need to hire new workers as older workers retire." It also helps centralize workforce skills, captures knowledge, and optimizes the workforce.

Source: Industry Week "The Aging Workforce Challenge: How Remote Service Can Help Product Manufacturers" (November 19, 2008)

Progress of eSangathan in Including Aging Workforce in the Information Society

In advance of an official report on the results of the eSangathan Conference "Impact of Information & Communication Technology on Ageing Workforce" held in Mumbai in April 2008, a couple articles are providing some insight into progress being made in extending the working-life and knowledge services of aging workers by using information and communication technology (ICT). The eSangathan project funded by the European Union is, among other things, experimenting with two pilot projects in India over the benefits that aged workers could draw from collaborative tools for remaining longer in the work force, with good working conditions.

In an interview covering e-inclusion efforts, Dr Andrew Sors, Head, Science & Technological Development, Delegation of the European Commission in India and a participant at the conference said:

A good example of the impact of ICTs on the ageing workforce was discussed at the e-Sangathan conference. Indeed, through the use of technology, retired knowledge workers are able to keep working on projects if they wish to do so.

They can work from home, don’t need to travel but are able to remain active for longer and this has an extremely positive impact on their lives.

Mr. Ashank Desai, Chairman, Mastek Limited & President of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) , informed the delegates of the importance of collaboration as eSangathan for about 60 million senior citizens in India:

"The country is experiencing a growth rate of 8-9 percent, faces a shortage of talent, and the workforce spectrum could be widened by the inclusion of the aged population to leverage the talent system".

Sources: i4d (Information for Development) "Including the aged in mainstream workforce" (May 2008); The Hindu Business Line "Bringing Silver surfers into the Web" (June 9, 2008)

Survey: Generational Divide on Worker Attitudes Towards Web 2.0 and Technology Devices

According to a Symantec survey conducted by Applied Research-West to measure IT risk issues surrounding the emerging millennial workforce within companies, millennial workers (those born after 1980) have differing attitudes regarding the use and adoption of technology in the work environment, when compared to their older colleagues. Among other things, they access Web 2.0 applications much more frequently at work than other workers, are much less likely to stick to company-issued devices or software, and are far more likely to store corporate data on personal devices regularly.

Source: Symantec Weblog "Millennial Workforce: IT Risk or Benefit?" (March 18, 2008); Wall St. Journal Business & Technology "Young People Spark a Tech Culture Clash" (March 24, 2008)

IBM, Universities Collaborate on Technology Tools to Assist Older Workers

IBM has announced that it is collaborating with researchers at the University of Dundee School of Computing (UK) and the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine to develop open source software technology tools to accommodate the needs of older workers to help them adapt to and remain productive in the changing workplace of the 21st century. In particular, the focus is to support maturing workers who have age-related disabilities by finding new ways to increase their comfort level and ability to use technology, to develop and integrate structures, systems, tools, and processes that facilitate the inclusion of more people, irrespective of their age, abilities or personal challenges.

"This collaboration is a superb opportunity for the group in Dundee to apply our wide experience of research with older people, and of developing better ways of accessing technology, in an exciting new transatlantic partnership with IBM and the Miller Medical School in Miami," said Professor Peter Gregor, Head of the School of Computing at the University of Dundee. "The open source focus makes the challenges particularly rewarding because it means that knowledge gained and systems developed will be available freely to the people who need them and to other developers."

Source: IBM Press Release (November 18, 2007)