The aging population: An inquiry into discrimination against the elderly and the perceptions of elderly workers among public employees

Abstract

Background

Aging is a natural part of human life and brings both advantages-disadvantages. Ageism is one of these disadvantages, which affects older people-workers and all individuals in society directly/indirectly today and seems to affect tomorrow.

Objectives

This study evaluates public service providers’ attitudes towards the elderly and obtains their opinions about elderly employees for the first time. With this study, we aimed to find out some variables that may affect the attitudes of public employees towards the elderly and elderly workers.

Methods

In 2021, this study was conducted on 283 public employees from the province of Hatay in southern Turkey. The study used a 23-question AAS (Attitude towards Ageism Scale) scale to measure discrimination against the elderly. Furthermore, the authors conducted a review of the existing literature and developed a series of questions for a questionnaire designed to elicit attitudes towards older workers.

Results

Despite the demographic changes in our country in recent decades, our research has revealed that participants hold a positive attitude towards the elderly due to their respect for the elderly, which is an important part of our cultural heritage. However, there is also concern regarding discriminatory attitudes and ideas towards elderly workers.

Conclusion

As societies aging, it is inevitable that the workforce will also become older. This study is of significant value as it addresses the ongoing interactions between public employees and older individuals. Furthermore, this study makes a substantial contribution to the development of solutions to address these interactions and to the prevention of all forms of discrimination, such as ageism.