Age discrimination prevails in finance industry

Financial recruitment specialist Marks Sattin has found age discrimination is more prevalent in the finance industry than gender bias.

Marks Sattin director Ieuan Williams.

Financial recruitment specialist Marks Sattin has found age discrimination is more prevalent in the finance industry than gender bias, and it begins at 45.

The company surveyed more than 600 finance professionals. Forty-eight per cent identified age discrimination as prevalent, along with failing to be a part of a network (also 48 per cent), bias against foreign workers (36 per cent) and discrimination against women.

Director Ieuan Williams says it is a myth mature workers have no desire to climb the ladder or learn new skills.

“This is not something that changes with age, it’s a part of who that person is, and mature workers can be just as eager to learn and apply new skills as younger workers,” Williams says.

More than half of respondents said they had been discriminated against at work.

For the over-50s, age discrimination was three times more prevalent than all other forms of discrimination combined.

Men were likelier to say they were discriminated against because they were “not part of a network”, including golf groups and Friday night pub drinkers.

Gen Y disconnect

Online jobs board Elance-oDesk has found traditional approaches to staff hiring are not working for Australia’s growing generation Y workforce, which increasingly is demanding greater flexibility, creativity and freedom in careers.

The report found 39 per cent of gen Y workers had trouble finding a traditional job, while 53 per cent of recruiters had difficulty sourcing gen Y employees.

The report also found 56 per cent of gen Y workers believed corporate loyalty an outdated concept, 81 per cent were more likely to have egotistical tendencies and 84 per cent of recruiters believed gen X workers showed better leadership qualities.

But it is not all bad news. While 42 per cent of gen Ys considered earning potential important, culture, people and choice were considered more important. They also showed entrepreneurial signs — 85 per cent would consider quitting their job to work for themselves.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has estimated gen Y will eclipse the working-age population of gen X within 15 years.

Australian manager Kyri Theos says although more Silicon Valley-style workplaces are emerging, the study shows rigid corporate culture prevails.

“To retain gen Y talent, businesses need to become more flexible to better accommodate the values of this growing generation, which will continue to be integral to the workforce,” Theos says.

Questions by app

Perth-based Bam Creative has developed a six-minute, six-question survey to create conversation starters between managers and staff.

The 6Q employee engagement app allows managers to select six questions from an extensive library, designed to allow staff six minutes to respond.

The questions are designed to boost company culture, improve communication and increase productivity.

Managing director Miles Burke says the system is being trialled by more than 100 companies in 25 countries.

“6Q gives businesses the chance to understand how their employees feel and why by gathering feedback in a fun, meaningful, and actionable way that makes employees feel valued and appreciated.”

Burke says the days of annual performance reviews have gone. “Goals shift and projects evolve fast — we need to take a real-time approach to engaging our employees rather than relying on annual snapshots.”