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Many advertising executives feel that the industry is damaged by an age bias, a new report claims.

The report from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) found that many people in the industry felt that a bias towards younger employees was harming the industry.

Among the attitudes that advertising executives identified as being present in the industry was an assumption that older people were less technologically astute than younger workers and were less prepared to put in extra hours.

However, these negatives were balanced by the breadth of experience and emotional intelligence of older people, the report stated.

Director general of the IPA, Hamish Pringle, said: "Adland is way out of line in terms of age.

"For a range of reasons – burn-out, work/life balance, pressure on agency payrolls – agencies shed the over 40s relentlessly. This results in a massive loss of valuable experience and is a real cost to clients."

Among the recommendations for employers contained in the report were that advertising agencies should encourage flexible working, set up technology and media training for older workers and employ balanced recruitment policies.