Ageism at work starts earlier than you think

[Photo: :jacoblund/iStock]

While ageism isn’t a new concept, its prevalence in America’s workforce today is a dangerous bias that often goes undiscussed. The fastest-growing segment of the American workforce is employees aged 65 and older, according to AARP. And yet new survey results from Fairygodboss show that one in three people who’ve experienced ageism encountered it before the age of 45. This means that for as many as 20 years of a person’s life—or essentially half of their career—they may be vulnerable to experiencing ageism at work.

Initially, we set out to discover if there were differences in the way men and women experience ageism and what those differences are. We were somewhat surprised when our research revealed that men and women experience ageism in comparable ways and at similar rates and ages. But they differ in the ways they combat it.

Only 28% of all survey respondents said they have personally experienced ageism at work, but almost double that number (44%) have observed ageism in their workplaces. The most common forms include negative remarks from coworkers about age and being passed over for a job opportunity due to perceived age-related reasons.

One respondent detailed an interview experience where the interviewer “asked me if I could guarantee that I could catch onto their software program in a few weeks. I explained that I had used other medical software programs and it shouldn’t be an issue. She kept repeating herself. It was as if she thought I wouldn’t be able to learn fast enough and keep up with the pace of the office.”

BY GEORGENE HUANG