Can a wider age range of staff increase motivation?

Employing a diverse workforce could be one way to boost motivation, an expert has implied.

Campaign director at the Employers Forum on Age Rachel Krys said that mixed-aged teams tend to be strong and more adaptable, meaning they may be able to increase colleague motivation.

However, she claimed many recruiters are still discriminating on age, pointing out that much prejudice is unspoken since legislation was introduced to tackle the issue.

The official was commenting in the wake of a recent report by the Department of Communities and Local Government, which revealed the most common form of discrimination in the labour market in 2009-10 related to age.

"If you talk to any 50 or 60-year-old who is in the jobs market, they feel very strongly that they might be very well-qualified but are just not even getting past the first shortlist," Ms Krys remarked.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics earlier this month revealed that 1.4 million people over the state retirement age were being employed in the UK between March and May 2010.
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