NYAM Gets $595K Sloan Grant for Age-Friendly Workplace

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) a grant of $594,898 to establish the Sloan Award for an Age-friendly Workplace in New York City. The purpose of developing this new awards program is to celebrate “age-friendly” businesses as role models; publicize innovative characteristics, practices, and policies that contribute to an effective multigenerational workforce; and raise the visibility of effective older workers and their contributions to the workplace.

The Sloan Award for an Age-friendly Workplace in New York City is designed to highlight the value of older workers and the importance of effective multigenerational workplace practices to both employers and employees. The award is the newest addition to the prestigious family of Sloan awards, which includes the Sloan Award for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility and the Sloan Award for Public Service.

With the aging of seventy-nine million baby boomers who both need and want to continue working past traditional retirement age, opportunities for older workers and the capacity of businesses to optimize their contributions will depend on the identification and implementation of effective multi-generational workplace practices, policies, and values.

With this award, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation recognizes NYAM’s leadership in the Age-friendly NYC initiative, a public-private partnership that promotes the continued active engagement of older adults through changes in attitudes, practices, and policies across all sectors of NYC. As part of Age-friendly NYC, NYAM developed and implemented the Age-friendly Retail Initiative, an educational outreach campaign that helps businesses make low- and no-cost changes to meet the needs of older adults and grow their older customer base.

“Development of this highly visible and prestigious award celebrates businesses that embrace an age-friendly ethic and increase public awareness of the value of older workers. Locating the award in NYC, a world-class center for both business and media, ensures that these practices will receive national and international attention,” said Ruth Finkelstein, ScD, Senior Vice President for Policy and Planning at NYAM.

NYAM will now develop an evidence-based compendium of current practices and characteristics of age-friendly workplaces, which will serve as the basis for application guidelines and evaluations. The formal announcement of the award guidelines, along with the public presentation of the findings report, will be held in early 2013. An expert advisory panel, consisting of business leaders and experts in workplace management practices, will guide the process and serve as judges for the final awardees; awards will be presented in January 2014. A critical component of the Sloan Award for an Age-friendly Workplace in New York City will be the production and dissemination of tools and products to help businesses become more age-friendly, including an interactive website, social media profiles, a Guide to Age-friendly Business Management, age-friendly employer checklists, short video clips, and a series of case studies.

This tremendous award is an affirmation of our efforts to make New York City an age-friendly city for people of all ages,” said Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford, NYAM President. “The Sloan Foundation clearly embraces and supports the concept that older adults can continue to work in environments that welcome age as an instrument of wisdom and as a community of workers from whom we have so much to learn.”