The Great Place to Work Institute and Fortune Magazine started the best workplace award movement in the late 1990s. Fast forward to today, there are increasing numbers of award programs. Below is a centralized list:
Best Places to Work by State and Region
Best Places to Work by Industry
Certified Best Christian Workplaces
“Hear the one about the unemployed middle-aged guy who tripped and fell into the new economy?”
Dan Lyons, Author of Disrupted
It sucks being a middle-aged worker.
Of all organizations in the U.S., award-winning best places to work should not discriminate against minorities, including middle-aged workers. Otherwise, their workplace is not truly a great place to work worthy of recognition.
This article focuses on a real scenario involving the discrimination against a middle-aged candidate for employment, which is illegal in accordance with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
A hiring manager is presented three exceptionally qualified candidates, including one Millennial and two middle-aged Baby Boomers. Further, the manager communicates to the recruiter she prefers a younger, Millennial candidate. A middle-aged candidate is just too old and won’t fit in their company.
This bias is illegal, but rarely is it provable.
An overtly biased action can lead to a potential age discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in accordance with the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA).
Age discrimination is illegal for employees and candidates 40 and older. However, ageism is a common occurrence in today’s employment landscape.
Age discrimination accounted for 21.8% of the 84,254 claims in 2017 (see chart below). The actual numbers are likely much higher, but the problem is that it is hard to prove unless an employer’s bias is overt.
|
Millennials |
Boomers |
|
Better first impression and appearance |
Older look, wrinkles, gray hair, no hair, lack of style |
|
Less expensive |
Too much experience and demand for higher compensation |
|
Digital native, early adopter of new technology |
Did not grow up with hi-tech workplace, late adopter of new technology |
|
High energy, better endurance |
Needs to take a nap in the afternoon |
|
Willing to learn new skills |
Set in their ways and resistant to change |
|
Likely to stay longer with employer, when in fact they get impatient and tend to switch jobs frequently |
Will likely retire soon, when in fact they are more loyal and willing to stay in jobs longer |
|
Will listen and follow the direction of their supervisor |
Possesses strong opinions about work processes, independent and won’t listen to younger supervisors |
|
Ability and willingness to adjust to change |
Difficulty accepting and adapting to change |
|
Wears up-to-date fashion |
Still wears clothes from ten years ago |
| Photogenic, confident about looks |
No so photogenic and difficulty competing in the looks department |
It’s no fun getting old in the new economy.
Although I am going to cover the issues with interviews and job offers in a minute, it’s important to understand the dichotomy of Millennials and Baby Boomers.
I appreciate Millennials. We raised three of them, Brittany, Elizabeth and Katherine. There are some Boomers who complain about Millennials, but they have a lot to offer in today’s workplace and society.
Boomers shouldn’t complain about certain traits of Millennials. Why? Boomers raised them. It’s the Boomer’s fault.
Today, organizations are enamored with youth and dismissive of workers over 40. The economy has changed significantly, very significantly, since Boomers entered the job market in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Make no mistake, not everything is wonderful for Millennials. That is a different topic for another time.
Many middle-age workers were screwed at the beginning of their career. And now they are getting the shaft at the end of their careers.
When Boomers started their careers, bosses valued experience. When they graduated from college, they didn’t have any experience.
In today’s job market where Millennials are making hiring decisions, a large percentage of bosses don’t want experience. Even Boomers will discriminate against Boomers. They want inexpensive talent. What’s interesting, however, is they will save money on compensation packages but spend unbelievable amounts of money on great perks. This is especially true of tech companies.
Another issue Baby Boomers experienced was pension plans were replaced by 401(k) plans. It was a rude awakening, because it was not unusual for their parents, The Greatest Generation, to spend most of their working years with one employer. That’s right, one employer.
If the Boomers’ parents performed well on the job, employers were loyal to their people. In return, employees were loyal to their companies. Job hopping was very unusual and frowned upon.
At the end of their career, the parents of Boomers received a gold watch, a pension check each month, along with health care benefits.
Then, during the 1980s, employers decided to shift the entire burden of retirement planning and funding to the employee. Employers transferred their financial risk to employees. This business decision was implemented to appease investors who didn’t like unfunded future liabilities on their financial statements. There were other fully funded pension plans and those were targets of corporate raiders who acquired companies and pilfered those significant retirement funds.
Now you know the potential mindset of those Boomers in today’s marketplace.
Because of advances in health care, people are living longer. Retirement is being pushed back because those 401(k) plans may not be big enough to retire.
In fact, there is a major retirement crisis coming to America because Boomers have not saved enough money.
Since you know some of the history, let’s talk about the pervasive existence of ageism in the job market.
Here’s the scenario. A job opportunity hits the market and candidates apply. Assume they are utilizing the services of a recruiter. The recruiter has a lineup of great candidates with a mix of Millennials and Boomers.
The Boomer possesses the specific experience needed, if not more than the required qualifications. The Boomer also provides the benefits of learning from crucial life lessons. Both successes and failures have taught them how to navigate through several business issues.
Millennials, on the other hand, likely possess much less experience, but they deliver a better first impression. Typically, they have more energy, are digital natives, willing to learn new skills, and far less expensive. Plus, their clothing is up-to-date, with more hair (for men) and less wrinkles (for women).
If you wonder whether a company discriminates against middle-aged workers, look at the pictures on their website’s career page. Are the workers in the picture all young? Or is there a mixture of all races and age groups. That might answer the question.
Ageism is acceptable in a large percentage of organizations. For some, it is overt and for others it’s a result of unconscious bias.
Ageism can also happen in the reverse. Hiring managers might overtly express their preference for older workers. That bias is not illegal but unethical.
Bottom line, age discrimination happens. It just shouldn’t happen in award-winning best places to work.
A tsunami is a series of overwhelming ocean waves caused by an underwater earthquake, volcanic eruption or landslide. The triggering event causes a displacement of water along with multiple waves that quickly travel inland and dramatically increase in height when hitting the shoreline.
American businesses are experiencing a culture tsunami that is radically changing the business and employee experience landscape. It will lead to the cleansing of organizations that fail to prepare for the culture tsunami. Two waves have hit the workplace with bigger ones yet to arrive.
It could be said the triggering event occurred in April 1984 when the book, “The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” was published by Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz. The findings in this book led to additional books and articles, along with Levering’s founding of the Great Place to Work Institute.
The research revealed a direct correlation between high levels of trust in an organization and their financial performance. The stock performance of great workplace companies outperformed the S&P 500 by 300%. This demolished the myth that soft skills had no place in business.
During the research for their first book, Levering and Moskowitz found that most company cultures were not great. In fact, they were bad. Their findings were too important not to share with corporate America. Not only were great workplaces good for the employee experience and the bottom-line, it was good for customers, suppliers and the community.
This was the first wave.
The Great Place to Work Institute’s footprint began to grow with their annual Fortune 100 Best Places to Work for in America. Each year, the list was, and still is, Fortune’s most popular issue.
The Institute managed the process of determining the 100 winners based on the GPTW Trust Model. There was an increasing demand among organizations who wanted to transform their culture and make Fortune’s “great” list.
Demand for making the list is based on the fact people want to work for companies with great workplaces. With the evolution of worker expectations, organizations began transforming their culture to attract the best talent.
Due to the high demand and the limit of 100 winners, the Institute began offering many other lists besides the Fortune program. The innovative GPTW Certified program was also introduced.
A flood of company culture consulting firms began cropping up, as well as new best workplace lists, including Inc., Forbes, Gallup, Best Companies Group, Glassdoor, Indeed, Fast Company, People Magazine, Top Workplaces, CultureAmp, Energage, Best Christian Workplace Institute, Working Mother Magazine, Outside Magazine, among others.
There are also best workplace lists for Millennials, Baby Boomers, women, health care, diversity, financial services, African Americans, candidate experience, parents, world’s best, giving back, retail industry, and many, many more.
This was the second wave.
The third wave is about to hit, and companies are starting to scramble for high ground.
Our economy is finally recovering from the Great Recession. The job market is hot. Unemployment is low. Millennials have higher expectations for their culture. They expect high levels of trust. They demand to be treated with dignity and respect.
Why do Millennials have higher workplace demands? One reason is they observed their Baby Boomer parents sacrifice their personal lives for their company that had little regard for their families. They felt the impact of their parents being laid off and its tragic impact on the family.
In our current business climate, failing to create a positive employee experience will lead to disaster. It will be difficult to attract and retain the best talent. Since the job market is hot, creating a great place to work is no longer an option – it’s a necessity.
If your company is not transforming the culture, it might be too late. Because of the improved job market, employees are looking for better places to work. There is a battle brewing for the best talent and only great workplace companies will win.
To create and sustain a successful company, your people strategy must be innovative and employee-centric. There is not one recipe to create a great place to work. One thing is certain; the CEO must drive the process. The people department should be involved but they are not the driver. Executives and leaders are also essential to the reformation of a culture. Executives who do not agree with the importance of culture should be respectfully managed out of the organization.
There is a lot of news coverage on the latest company perks. Perks are the Millennials workplace crack. The workplace revolution, however, is more than perks. Perks are simply the icing on the cake.
You might find it interesting, however, to see a list of perks currently being offered across America.
Just for kicks, here is a list of perks being offered by employers across the country.
Cafes, restaurants, coffee shops, full-service kitchens, fitness centers, basketball and tennis courts, yoga, daycare, spa treatments, massages, meditation sessions, safe rooms, quiet rooms, ping-pong, bowling, foosball, air hockey, shuffle boards, shuttle services, dry cleaning, laundry rooms, bicycle repair, unlimited vacation, car washes, theaters, on-site doctors, snacks, sabbaticals, beer, wine, video games, haircuts and mini golf.
Although the perks are nice, it does not guarantee you will create a successful, attractive and enduring culture.
Based upon the exhaustive search by GPTW, trust is the secret sauce of a great company. Employees want to be treated with respect. They need to work for an organization that shares their values and operates with the highest of ethical standards. Treating employees with dignity is non-negotiable.
They are looking for a place that openly communicates to their people.
If your company is not meeting these essential needs, your business will be short-lived. If you provide the best in compensation, benefits and perks, yet treat your employees poorly, your company will eventually go out of business.
These tsunami warnings are catapulting the people function into the board room. Simply being present in the board room is not enough. Next to the CEO, the CPO function is now the most important executive role in the company. Since people are at the center of all functions, the CPO role is more important than the COO, CFO, CMO, CIO or CAO. This is not an arrogant position. It’s simple. People should be the focus of your company.
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric recently stated, “Human resources, without question, is the number one or number two most important function in a company. I happen to believe HR is number one.” This is a significant statement coming from Welch. Based on his dubious history as a people manager, Welch must have had an epiphany later in life. While at GE, he did not have a great reputation of caring for employees. Time has a way of crystallizing your philosophy on life.
And finally, if your CPO/CHRO does not report directly to the CEO, your organization will likely be one of the casualties of the tsunami. Do not make your people function report to the CFO, COO, CLO, CMO, or any other executive alphabet combination. It should report to the top, otherwise, the people function is a waste of time.
It will be interesting to see how the third wave will change the workplace landscape and which companies will go out of business. I can hear the rumble of the third wave in the distance.
Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash
If you are searching for a great place to work in the State of Oklahoma, be sure to first look at organizations who have obtained an official great workplace designation.
Although these awards do not guarantee the workplace is perfect, it shows, however, these organizations are dedicated to creating a healthy place to spend eight or more hours each day. They are also a great place to build upon your career and experience.
Employers are realizing the importance of obtaining a great place to work designation. With the war for talent in full swing, the best and brightest are looking for the best workplaces. These organizations will also be creative in retaining top talent, which is good for employees.
Trying to make a best workplace list is not a marketing strategy. It is a people strategy.
Making the “list” should be based on treating employees with trust and respect.
If your great workplace initiative is being championed by the marketing department, that’s a good sign it’s being done for the wrong reasons. If it’s a marketing strategy, employees will see right through it.
Legitimate best workplace awards create a robust system that prevents opportunistic companies from pursuing an award for the wrong reasons. Legitimate awards are based on quantifiable data that includes a significant statistical sample of employee attitudes, evaluation of company programs and benefits, and possibly a CEO interview.
Avoid lists that are merely a popularity contest. I have seen newspapers and magazines create great workplace lists that are based on the number of votes on a website. That is absurd. Unethical organizations can stack the deck with illegitimate votes.
Create a great culture first. Then start the process of making a list. After you make a list for the right reasons, then tell the world.
An organization’s core values should extend to their candidate experience.
From the moment a job candidate enters their data in an applicant tracking system, the organization’s core values should reach out and touch them.
For most companies, applying for a job is like playing the lottery. You buy the ticket but your chances of hearing your number called is one in a million.
Merely receiving updates on their applicant status delivers a positive message they have not been forgotten.
Even hearing negative information is a positive. At least they were told the position was filled.
Is silence representative of your organization’s core values?
Does your organization promise to treat people with respect and dignity?
Applicants are people too.
Ask a significant, representative sample of applicants how they were treated during the application process.
You might think this is asking for unnecessary negative feedback. But this exercise will provide valuable feedback on how to improve your company’s reputation with those who could be potential customers or raters on sites like Glassdoor.
Do the right thing. Act in an ethical way. Live your core values.
Treat your applicants with respect.
We don’t hire unemployed candidates. Have you heard recruiters espouse this hiring policy?
This idea is based on the premise only low performers are laid-off or fired. This can be a misguided recruiting philosophy.
When companies are acquired, entire departments or divisions can be eliminated. Would it be accurate to presume all of these people are low performers?
Mergers can displace workers and cause unemployment.
Sometimes the best performers can be laid-off because they are not afraid to rock the boat.
There are employees who keep to themselves and don’t make waves so they don’t stand out or take risks. Are they the best in talent?
If your company follows the policy of not recruiting unemployed people, reconsider this misguided philosophy. You could be missing some great talent.
(By the way, the following states have laws against this policy: New Jersey and Oregon. The District of Columbia and New York City also have laws preventing the discrimination against unemployed workers. It could also be said the policy has a disproportionately negative impact on protected applicants — both race and age.)
What are your thoughts on the do-not-hire-the-unemployed policy?
That’s what workers over 50 are made to think. The workplace values Millennials over experienced workers.
Ageism is an unspoken yet real workplace issue.
Twenty percent of workers in the U.S. is 55 or older. Sixty-four percent claim they have experienced age discrimination in the workplace. Fifty-eight percent believe age discrimination begins in their 50s. (AARP)
They are slow to adopt new technology. They can’t multitask. They can’t hustle and get things done. These are discriminatory misperceptions.
There was a time when experience was valued. Younger workers were told they didn’t have enough experience. Now workers over 50 are too experienced. Recruiters recommend they shorten their work history and delete graduation dates on their resume.
Of course, older workers are not told overtly, “you are too old for this position.” It is subtle. And it is extremely difficult to prove. But it is happening.
Ageism works both ways. We shouldn’t discriminate against younger workers either. The deciding factor should be who is the most qualified and the right fit for the job.
This is also a universal issue. Ageism impacts all people groups, regardless of race or heritage. All of us are getting older.
Some organizations don’t even try to hide ageist employment practices. They boast their organization is youthful.
Visit organizational career websites. View photos on company marketing materials. Which people group is highlighted? Mostly young, good looking people.
We all need perspective in our lives before we start our work day. Perspective helps us understand how important daily issues really are in the whole scheme of life. The issues and life events around us scream for our attention each day. Natural disasters, vehicle accidents, serious health conditions are all deliverers of perspective.
Considering the multitude of unusual world events happening today, do you think the project you are working on right now is the most important priority in life? Is work more important than spending time with your family? Is delivering that report to your boss crucial to living a fulfilling life? These are all easy answers when you possess perspective.
I will be the first to admit I have not conquered living with perspective 24/7, yet it is still important to allow this quality much more room in our life.
Work is important in the context of perspective.
Company leaders who create great workplaces based on trust and respect understand perspective. Flexibility is perspective. Calmness is perspective. Listening, not talking, provides perspective. Giving is perspective.
Live and work with perspective.
The level of control a company wields over an employee has often been a concern of mine. When an employee receives a paycheck for work performed, should they be expected to give up a certain amount of their God-given freedoms?
I have found great companies provide an abundance of freedom. On the other hand, companies that are barely surviving typically squeeze the very life out of their employees until they burn out.
Greatness boils down to a question of control. How much control should an employer exert over an employee? Leaders who can inspire and motivate rather than direct and control are better equipped to build great companies with a positive work environment, along with competition-crushing financial results.
A strong management presence stifles innovation, creativity and productivity. These companies just don’t last.
Maybe we don’t need managers. Give someone a supervisor title and they will direct, manage and control. Unfortunately, certain individuals desire, even lust, for control over others.
Replace control with freedom so you can experience innovation, creativity and productivity.