Essay Example on Age & Weight Discrimination: The Prevalence of Workplace Harassment

Introduction

Ideally, the Age discrimination primarily is associated with adverse workplace treatment of an employee based on their age. Past studies show that the elderly are the most discriminated (O'Loughlin et al., 2017). Weight discrimination refers to mistreating employees based on their weight. Research shows that overweight persons are the most stigmatized in the workplace (Bartels, 2020). Sexual orientation discrimination occurs when a worker is subjected to harassment because of sexual orientation or those close to them. However, federal laws protect employees against workplace discrimination based on their age, weight, and sexual orientation. This paper focuses on discussing the age, weight, and sexual orientation in the workplace. It also seeks to illustrate whether the three types of discrimination from the workplace may be eliminated.

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Age Discrimination

Age discrimination mainly encompasses treating an employee less favorably due to his or her age. The elderly and youthful employees sometimes experience discrimination. Employers hire, dismiss, promote, and decide the level of employee compensation based on their age (O'Loughlin et al., 2017). The signs of age discrimination include a pattern of hiring younger employees only, overlooking others for challenging works, encouraging others to retire, and isolating some of the employees. The older employees may also receive fewer training opportunities while the young ones are preferred for training. According to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, it is illegal to show prejudice against individuals above 40. There are also rules to protect younger workers.

Weight Discrimination

Weight discrimination involves negative attitudes toward people who are affected by obesity or overweight. Individuals with high weight are subject to bias in the workplace environment. Research shows that bias against high weight in the workplace has increased (Flint, 2019). There is a considerable percentage of obese persons across the USA who have testified of alleged discrimination in the workplace as a result of their weight. However, the current federal discrimination laws do not protect against obesity despite many people claiming that they regularly suffer unfavorable treatment. Past studies show that 19 percent of individuals reported unfair treatment in the workplace setting (Bartels, 2020). In some organizations, the individuals are paid low salaries compared to their colleagues who are deemed to be in a good size.

Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Sexual orientation discrimination involves the maltreatment of employees depending on their sexual orientation or those close to them. The individuals may suffer victimization and bullying by their colleagues and employers in the workplace (DeSouza, E. R., Wesselmann, & Ispas, 2017). They may also face indirect discrimination, which occurs when a policy or practice applies to all the employees while disadvantaging a particular sexual orientation. The workers also go through harassment, which includes the activities directed to the employees to humiliate them. Employees may be subjected to unfair treatment in promotion opportunities, training, and other work-related activities. Sexual orientation is, however, a protected aspect under the Equality Act 2010. The law safeguards individuals in recruitment, promotion, training, redundancy, transfer chances, pay, and benefits.

Ways to Eliminate Age, Weight, and Sexual Discrimination from the Workplace

There are various ways to eliminate age, weight, and sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. Leadership plays a vital role in getting rid of bias. The employers should consistently illustrate the commitment to creating and maintaining a culture in which discrimination is not condoned (Hebl, Cheng, & Ng, 2019). The overall strategy should be to promote diversity, inclusion, and the belief that all the employees should be respected irrespective of their age, weight, or sexual orientation.

Additionally, there should be written workplace policies regarding discrimination. Employers should establish a written policy and communicate it to all the employees (Hebl, Cheng, & Ng, 2019). The policy should cover all types of discriminatory acts. It should be in a transparent manner. The policies should be reviewed regularly and updated in case there is a need. A fair language should also be used to ensure that all the employees understand them and treat everyone equally.

There should be a set complaint procedure for all the discriminatory actions. The discrimination policy should set the protocol that the employees should follow when they want to complain (Nelson et al., 2019). It should also show how the complaints are handled, starting with the investigation of the acts to the disciplinary action. The penalties for discrimination should be well outlined to ensure there is the punishment of those who discriminate against others.

There should be a training session constituting discrimination. The training should be planned to break down the historical delusions of what is acceptable behavior and language. Training should include role-playing and reviewing the actions that provoke diverse

individuals (Nelson et al., 2019). Events and team-building exercises should be held to help the employees interact and understand each other well. It will enable employees to accept diversity.

Conclusion

Age, weight, and sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace is rampant. It involves the unfair treatment of employees based on their age, size, and sexual attraction. However, to eliminate discrimination, employers should create policies that do not tolerate discrimination. There should also be a complaint system where the employees can air their grievances. Actions should also be taken for those found discriminating against others.

References

Bartels, L. (2020). Weight Stereotypes. Stereotypes: The Incidence and Impacts of Bias, 226. https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/Stereotypes_The_Incidence_and_Impacts_of.html?id=F_HJDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=yDe

Souza, E. R., Wesselmann, E. D., & Ispas, D. (2017). Workplace Discrimination against Sexual Minorities: Subtle and notsosubtle. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration, 34(2), 121-132. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1438

Flint, S. W. (2019). Addressing weight stigma: a timely call. The Lancet Public Health, 4(7), e322. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(19)30083-0/fulltext

Hebl, M., Cheng, S. K., & Ng, L. C. (2019). Modern Discrimination in Organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 7. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012119-044948

Nelson, R. L., Sendroiu, I., Dinovitzer, R., & Dawe, M. (2019). Perceiving Discrimination: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation in the Legal Workplace. Law & Social Inquiry, 44(4), 1051-1082. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-social-inquiry/article/perceiving-discrimination-race-gender-and-sexual-orientation-in-the-legal-workplace/974BAA3674B938B45316C864D6650D9A

O'Loughlin, K., Kendig, H., Hussain, R., & Cannon, L. (2017). Age discrimination in the workplace: The more things change. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 36(2), 98-101. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/ajag.12429