Equality means treating everyone the same regardless of gender, age or race. Diversity is the recognition of individual differences and that people are not homogeneous. These two terms are similar but do have differences. Equality means everyone getting treated the same, while diversity is more like creating an environment that thrives on our differences and no matter how glaring these differences are no one is being a victim of discrimination. Equality is being able to work or live in a community that gives the same human rights to all individuals, diversity is recognizing that everyone is different and being able to peacefully co-exist with each other despite these differences. Both terms do promote positive society and benefit everyone.
The age legislation act came into force in October 2006, this means that businesses have to treat all individuals the same regardless of age. For employers this will affect who they hire and the hiring process as they now have to see all applicants and screen everyone fairly. This means that businesses need to hire employees at both scales of the age gap to show that there is no discrimination and there is equal opportunity for all. Although this may have a negative impact on the company as young people, if they have not had a job before, can be very unreliable and not know what they are doing. Meaning they will have days off when they shouldn’t and could cost the company money by not being able to carry out even the simplest of tasks. Also older people can be very slow and frail, meaning there workload per day could be half of that of a normal worker due to the speed that they work at, and that they get tired a lot a lot faster than younger people. There are some positives to having no age barriers as now companies are not ‘fishing in a small pond’ and have a lot more choice for hiring. Society does hold certain stereotypes against the young and old. Young people are seen as lazy and unreliable within the workplace as they do not appreciate having a job and the satisfaction gained from this. Old people are seen as slow and incompetent as they cannot perform all tasks other employees can. Organisations may be able to change this stereotyping by hiring more younger and older individuals to show the public that they can work and break the general stereotype. Also another way could be to use the younger and older generation to front products for their company, for example B&Q used some of the older generation for their television adverts.
An example of an organisation that fronts both generations is B&Q; they have really embraced the age legislation act by offering jobs to both younger and older individuals. They take pride in the flexibility that is applied to job roles and working arrangements. Like any business B&Q has to consider the business case for any changes to the way it works. Phasing out retirement and actively recruiting a workforce of different ages has produced a number of benefits. This allows higher productivity, reduced absences, reduced staff turnover and an increased business turnover. B&Q have a workforce of around 35000 people, and of these over a quarter are over the age of 50, the eldest being 94.
To conclude equality and diversity are both essential to modern day society and are both serious issues that need to be upheld. The age legislation act has helped increase the numbers of older and younger individuals get a job in the uncertain society we live in at the moment. It has created many benefits to organisations and certain ones are using this to their advantage. It is all about giving everyone an equal opportunity to gain employment and show their worth.
References
Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
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