It's National Employ Older Workers Week: A new survey shows what older jobseekers are facing

As someone who speaks to employers about the very real business case for older workers and intergenerational teams and how to reap the benefits of the multigenerational workforce, there is nothing, nothing like being at the Center for Workforce Inclusion and CWI Labs annual Equity Summit!

It's 24 hours with people who like me are passionate about deploying the strength and potential found in older workers to address our nation's very real talent pipeline challenges and grow a stronger economy, and addressing the ageism that gets in our way.

As a board member of CWI Labs , I was especially proud to be there this year when our founder and CEO Gary A. Officer presented the results of our Age Inclusion in the Workplace Survey of over 1,600 adults. The results strengthen our argument that the public, private and nonprofit sector MUST come together to ensure that age inclusion is not just an idea, but a reality (And next week, I'll write about some of the solutions that were discussed at the Summit).

What did we learn from the survey?

1. Ageism continues to be an obstacle to finding work.

The survey revealed that 81% of older workers believe employers want younger applicants, and 59% of older workers in the U.S. looking for jobs feel their age has created obstacles in their search for employment. In addition, of that group of older workers currently searching for employment, nearly half (46%) have been searching for a job for at least a year, and only 21% feel optimistic they will find a job in the next six months.

2. Some older workers deal with ageism at work.

?The survey found 28% of older workers have witnessed age-related microaggressions; 19% have received them; and 70% indicated those age-related microaggressions have come from younger colleagues.

3. Common myths and stereotypes are just that.?

• Older workers are willing to collaborate with colleagues of all generations: 78% work on teams made up of colleagues from different generations, and 74% are comfortable being managed by someone younger than themselves.
• The survey also dispels the myth that older workers do not want to learn new skills with 92% of those over the age of 50 surveyed indicating they are interested in learning new professional skills, including digital skills.

This infographic summarizes the key findings. Feel free to share.

So how do we move forward to create more age-inclusive workplaces?

Next week, I'll be covering some of the innovative ideas, programs and solutions that were shared at the Summit. Subscribe to my newsletter here to get the article delivered to your inbox.

Together, we can create workplaces and a society where age inclusion is considered a competitive advantage and growth strategy. Because it is!