Ageism

The purpose of this discussion is to give you the opportunity to apply ethical theories to the complex issue of Ageism in the workplace, particularly in the area of employment.

In the modern workplace there appear to be three key issues which address ageism in employment; some of which has been exacerbated by recent economic issues and an aging population: Older job seekers fight ageism as a barrier to re-employment; younger job-seekers have trouble obtaining career entry; and last, evidence in many countries highlight that older worker employment and youth employment are not connected in any way.

This last point is generally known in economics as the "Lump of Labor Fallacy." This seems counter-intuitive to personal belief and perceptions perpetuate a view that if older workers are employed in a tight labor market, then they must be occupying the jobs of the country's youth. Prepare and post a response to the following prompt:

Using at least one ethical perspective or theory from the text and one item of scholarly evidence, present an argument to a group of younger workers (regarding older worker and youth employment) that refutes the notion that older workers take employment from the young.