Top Issue For Under 20s is Their Age -
Annual EFA conference addresses the issues that count for young people and employers
13 February 2008

New research from The Employers Forum on Age (EFA) reveals today that the top issue of concern for the under 20's is their age - almost one in five (17%) say they have been made to feel self conscious about their age while at work or going about their daily life, ranking far above experiences with their gender, race or religion. The research has been commissioned for the EFA conference taking place on 13th February which will explore the challenge faced by both employers and young people in creating a sustainable connection in the workplace.

While the overall picture from the EFA research seems to support the widely held belief that age discrimination is just about older people (12% of everyone questioned said they had been made to feel too old while only 4% had been made to feel self conscious about being too young), a closer look at the figures shows something else happening in the workplace. In fact the research found that one in five adults aged under 20 (20%) have been put off applying for a job because of their age - more than any other group (just 7% of 40 year olds feel this way). Even people aged over 70 are less put off by their age than those under the age of 30.

Rachel Krys, Director of The EFA comments, "It is great that older people do not appear to feel that their age is a barrier to work if they want it, but unfortunately our research has found that it's now young people who are self conscious about their age, leaving some feeling very excluded from the job market. At the same time, we also know that older people often feel threatened and offended by young people - and this represents a great challenge for employers: unless something is done to close this gap, it will get harder to recruit and retain young people and differences or pressures between the generations are likely to get worse, not better, with the changing demographic profile in this country.

Krys continues, "Demographically the UK is changing fast. The population is getting older and the proportion of young people is only remaining stable due to high levels of inward migration. This means that the burden on the working population to support people on pensions will only increase. Employers must recruit and engage young people and our research shows that this group, more than any other group is feeling alienated from the workplace. The next generation of employees requires a new approach; employers have to evolve in order to understand, motivate and develop the skills of this group - they can't afford to ignore any age group. "

The research also asked respondents about the behaviours of other people at work and in daily life which had caused them to be offended or upset; encouragingly 82% said that they were not troubled by other people's behaviour. But beyond the majority, the research revealed an important minority who are troubled; around 2 or 3 % of both the young and old are offended by each others behaviour and 19% of people found the attitudes, bad behaviour and violence of young people to be specifically offensive.

Krys continues, "The research also shows a worrying numbers of people feeling self-conscious about other personal issues at work - the most significant being their weight with one in six people feeling concerned about this. It is in the workplace that personal traits, whether they be race, age, weight or anything else are irrelevant - the only thing that matters is someone's ability to do the job and the contribution they can make. "

"It seems that we are a long way from this ideal. Young people in particular are vulnerable to the preconceptions that are held about them and there is a risk that some will be turned-off from work altogether. Employers have a vital role to play in increasing the appeal of work to young people, and in developing a working environment which harnesses the potential of people of all ages."

- End -

For further information please contact:

The Employers Forum on Age
Rachel Krys: 207 785 6556 - rachel.krys@efa.org.uk

Or

Lansons Communications
Helen Thomson: 0207 294 3604 - helent@lansons.com
Siobhan McCluskey: 0207 294 3684 - siobhanm@lansons.com


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