There are different types of categories of ageism.
Within workplace environments, age discrimination affects mezzo-level workers by influencing the overall workplace culture. A hostile or offensive environment can lead to burnout, high stress levels, and low productivity, creating a toxic workplace (Chernesky, 1998). Organizational toxicity results from insensitive actions by work members, managers, and company practices that drain vitality at both the individual and organizational levels (Frost, 2003, p.13).
In all my experiences as a nurse, I’ve realized the importance of communication, providing holistic care to an individual and empowering them with the knowledge to manage their health. When an illness strikes a person, it affects not just his body, but also his mind and spirit. The art of communication is invaluable to patient interaction and establishing a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship, that facilitate coping mechanisms for patients, moreover it prepared myself as a nurse to meet their individual needs. Furthermore, there is at the moment an insurmountable demand for survivorship care as a result of the advancement in technology and medicine, which made living beyond life expectancy possible for increasingly more people. Living after cancer treatment is not free of complications as there are acute and chronic side effects of treatment that requires constant monitoring and attention, and this information spurred me to shift my focus from palliative to survivorship care. Ageism also promotes exclusion of the elderly in society from their meaningful roles, relationships and functional occupations (Jackson et al., 2019). Age discrimination has profound consequences at both individual and collective levels. Many older adults continue working due to financial necessity, with 42% of Americans over 45 reporting they need the money, while 12% support family members. However, the most common reasons for continuing work are staying mentally active (91%) and making extra money for desired purchases (Perron, 2018). Despite their confidence in job security, a significant portion of older workers worry about being left out of the workforce if laid off, with nearly half citing age discrimination as the reason (Perron, 2018). Age discrimination can adversely affect employees both mentally and physically, compounding stress and its long-term effects, including lower self-esteem, depression, and adverse health behaviors (Shipee et al., 2017). Likewise, the impact of ageism is considerable, for older people can and do play a major role in social and economic development. Yet we fail to maximize the potential of older persons on either a paid or voluntary basis and deny them the opportunity to play a significant role in our cultural life. Recognizing that age discrimination exists both advertently and inadvertently in personal and institutional form, and that economic and psychological factors play a major part in ageism as well, the International Longevity Center (ILC) has set out to examine the problem of age prejudice, also known as ageism (Butler, 2009). The American Psychological Association suggests that ageism is a serious issue that should be treated the same as sex, race, and disability-based discrimination. They suggest that raising public awareness about the issues ageism creates can help. The concept of ageism was originally developed to refer to prejudice and discrimination against older people and middle-aged people but has expanded to include children and teenagers. Midlife workers, on average, make more than younger workers do in income, which reflects educational achievement and experience. The age-wage peak in the United States, according to Census data, is between 45 and 54 years of age. As people age, seniority is often treated with respect, thereby lessening ageism. can result in and decreasing job mobility with increasing age. Social workers can play a crucial role in addressing age discrimination in the workplace. They can advocate for policies that promote inclusivity, encourage organizations to adopt age-friendly practices, and support the development of training programs that raise awareness of ageism. By fostering an environment that emphasizes age diversity, social workers contribute to creating workplaces where older workers are valued for their experience and capabilities.
Ageism can also be difficult for elderly people in the workplace.
These behaviours may act as coping mechanisms whenever elderly people experience discrimination and may provide short-term comfort or relief from the psychological distress caused by age discrimination.
The primacy of age and sex in the structure of person categories.
Ageist attitudes among health care practitioners and professionals may lead to discriminatory events that place elderly adults at a greater risk in their health (Jackson et al., 2019).
First, the individual may be ageist with respect to others.
Defining the issue Ageism is a form of discrimination and prejudice against an age group, and is actually felt by seniors (Ageism, 2009). Ageism includes false stereotypes which is applied to the seniors, also changes ones way of how they treat elders. As an individual society has taught us want to categorize people into groups, which often leads to use making incorrect and negative stereotypes on one another. A professor had asked her students if they were excited about getting older, and they all answered “no way!” Their explanation was a list of stereotypes such as, sick, unhappy, sexually inactive, as well as being alone.
Second, the individual may be ageist with respect to self.
Ageism has significant effects in two particular sectors: employment and health care. Age discrimination has contributed to disparities in health between men and women. Reducing ageism and sexism would promote improved doctor-patient relationships and reduce ageist stereotypes in the healthcare industry.
Ageism: Denying the face of the future.
Such age-related discriminatory actions can be observed in the way clinical workers communicate with elderly patients as well as in the quality of care the older patients receive when compared to younger and more juvenile patients.