We Need to Protect Young Workers
Age discrimination doesn’t include young workers — it should
Many people we talk to are surprised to find out that age discrimination protection does not extend to people who are young. The law is designed to provide protection for people over the age of 40.
The truth is that age is used as a basis for targeting on both ends of the spectrum. People over 40 are often denied employment and forced out of their positions due to having “too much experience.”
But people who are just starting out are often targeted as well. They are often belittled and targeted by more experienced bullies who see easy targets with so much to lose. Two of our stories today come from women who experienced bullying because of their young age.
I often feel taken less seriously as a young female in the workplace. From my first interviews out of college where I was winked at by the middle-aged interviewer, to my first position where a colleague and I were referred to as “little girls,” I am rarely viewed as competent until I prove it. I have also regularly been asked to perform “secretarial” tasks that are far outside my job description (note taking, arranging meetings, answering phones, etc.). Small moments like this string together and have put me on the defensive — I avoid sounding too bubbly in meetings and prefer to avoid face-to-face situations. I take pride in “surprising” people, but realize how ridiculous it is that doing well at a job I have earned through experience and skill set should come as a surprise to anyone in or out of the organizations I’ve worked for.
I don’t want to say I was explicitly harassed, but I worked somewhere men would talk about how attracted they were to women who were really young. I was fresh out of school, and this man twice my age or more would brag to others about his young girlfriends, who could be their daughters. The whole thing really creeped me out.
Same place, there was an issue with one supervisor. He was very crude, talked a lot about his sexual experiences and such, was basically a frat boy in the body of a 40-year-old man. It was well known he was inappropriate, and he knew it too. This company, which I am no longer at, is very small and not a lot of people know how to do everything. He was the only person who really really knew the one software we used, and he knew he was invincible because of it. If he got fired, the company would basically fall apart. He was well aware.
Both writers experienced several different types of targeted, but being young certainly played a part.
- Testing Boundaries: Many, many workplace bullies start their targeting process by testing boundaries. They will start with things that they know make others uncomfortable, and then slowly turn up the heat as they learn how their target reacts. In these stories, workplace bullies make inappropriate comments in front of their targets and wait for a reaction. It’s often used as an early form of harassment that builds to more serious issues.
- Belittling: Referring to employees as “little girls” is highly inappropriate, both on the basis of age and gender. This technique is designed to make the target feel like they are not taken seriously, and the fact that no one corrects them reinforces that.
- Proving It: Younger workers are new to their positions and are working to build a reputation. Bullies often use this to keep younger workers off balance by placing them on the spot. Newer workers feel that they have to go above and beyond, time and time again in order to keep up.
- Assignments: Secretarial assignments are often assigned to women and young workers as a veiled way of putting targets “in their place.” Over and over again, we hear about women who are highly qualified being assigned note taking and secretarial tasks far outside their job description. This is inappropriate and a form of targeting.
- Targeting the Vulnerable: Young people just starting their careers are exceptionally vulnerable in the workplace. They are working to build a reputation, collect references, and widen their skill set. This makes them easy targets for experienced bullies, who know they don’t have the same support network to fall back on.
New workers, especially new workers who are members of other minority communities are often targeted. They have less resources and experience to fight back or protect themselves, and less of a network to recover from a bad experience. To top it all off, the law does not provide protection for young workers who have been targeted. All of this needs to change.
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Disclaimer:
Enlightened Solutions has not verified the accuracy of these stories. All stories are submitted anonymously and are published with the intent of allowing people to speak about their workplace situations without identifying information.
