Age-friendly Employer Pledge culture toolkit
This toolkit has been created to help organisations look at their existing workplace culture and how this could become more Age-friendly.
What does Age-friendly culture mean and why is it important?
Workplace culture can be explained as the unique and individual experience of employees in their workplace. It's important to acknowledge that our experiences will be shaped by race, age, gender, disability and class and that an organisational culture is not experienced uniformly by everyone.
Culture is shaped by a number of factors including power, inequality and historical bias, backed up by underlying assumptions and structural conditions.
The compounding nature of the intersection of age and other inequalities may result in some employee groups experiencing deeper discrimination. Assumptions made about a workplace culture being a single and shared experience, should be challenged.
A fully age-inclusive workplace culture routinely interrogates, questions and shapes the desired culture.
Age-friendly culture
An age-friendly culture is one where employees feel included and valued regardless of their age. People of all ages should feel valued and able to contribute at their best. That said, there are some specific issues affecting those in their 50s, 60s and beyond that need to be considered in order to establish a healthy culture.
We know that ageism exists in society and at work. It is the most reported form of discrimination in the workplace. It exists in how we recruit, how we support development and even how we socialise with each other. It ignores the wealth of experience older workers bring to the workplace.
This toolkit will help you think about the culture you have and the changes you might need to make to be more age-friendly.
Culture toolkit topics
The toolkit is organised by the different touchpoints that shape culture within an organisation. You can start anywhere that feels most relevant, or where you think you might make the biggest impact. There is a checklist that you can use as a diagnostic, and an action plan to help you think about your priorities and where you might start.
Leadership
For anyone leading organisational change to tackle ageism.
Policy and processes
For those developing tools to support older employees.
Internal communications
For anyone producing and distributing internal communication.
Line management
For anyone who line manages someone in their 50s, 60s or beyond.
Individuals
For anyone who wants to take action to tackle ageism at work.
Explore the toolkit
To explore the issues, you can start by:
Watching
Watch this video for tips on how to support colleagues in their 50s, 60s and beyond as a line manager.
Understanding
Understanding how you, as an individual, can make your workplace more age-friendly
Reading
Reading the case for older workers, which outlines the benefits workers in their 50s, 60s and beyond bring to the workplace.
Finding out
Finding out more about ageism in the workplace — what it is, how it shows up and the effect it has.