Ageism In The Workplace – and why we inflict it on ourselves

Ageism is an ugly business – and sadly, by the time you reach your early 50’s, you’ll almost certainly have experienced it. It’s that sense of being excluded, ignored, or overlooked, simply because of your age. Sometimes it’s obvious – like the shop assistant who chats animatedly to the younger person behind you in the queue while they hand you your change. Sometimes it’s subtle – like the job advert suggesting applicants should be ‘energetic’ and ‘looking for a career path’. However it’s delivered, ageism has the power to knock you for six, and if you strike it too often when looking for a job, it can sap your confidence altogether. But here’s the thing: while ageism in employment can come from external sources, we also impose it on ourselves. I know – I’ve been there!

A recent message from my son, about a job he’d seen advertised, and which he thought would suit me, is a case in point. It was for an organic gardener at a top resort, and the job description was me to a tee. Not only would there be opportunities to grow basic edibles, but the resort also wanted to expand their garden repertoire to include exciting new ranges of fruit and vegetables. It should have had me tingling with excitement and rushing to the laptop to hunt out my CV. Instead, I found myself messaging immediately back to my son that I didn’t think I’d have the required energy levels; my formal horticultural qualifications were forty years old; the resort would want someone young whom they could mould, not someone who was set in their ways. I even went so far as to say the establishment would want their guests to see a young, hip-looking, mother-earth type from their windows, not a close-to-retirement woman with grey hair. My reply was a litany of negativity, and given the job held huge appeal, on reflection, I couldn’t understand why I wrote it. Then I realised, I was imposing ageism on myself!

As we age, it’s all too easy to start thinking of ourselves as someone other than who we really are; to lump ourselves in with ‘the herd’ instead of seeing ourselves as an individual. Yes, I do have friends in their sixties who find a day in the garden exhausting – but I’m not one of them. I’m fit, healthy, and adore being outdoors with my hands in the soil for as many hours as daylight provides (a day spent shopping, on the other hand, wears me out completely). It’s also all too easy to completely look past the words in a job advert that single out an older person as being a desirable applicant (words such as ‘experienced’, ‘proven track record’, and ‘flexible schedule’). In other words, internal ageism can see you dismiss the very job you’d actually like to apply for, and which is crying out for you.

Just the other day, when I mentioned to the manager of a large home-hardware store how I was always impressed with the knowledge her floor staff, she was quick to tell me how much the business valued retirees as staff, and how hard they advertised to find them. Their experience, patience and reliability, she said, were second to none.

It’s all too easy to view our age as the deciding factor of whether or not we apply for a job. When we do, we deny ourselves our individuality as well as opportunities that will increase our enjoyment of life (and our bank account). Seniors have come too far to let their own negative, internal voices impact their lives. It’s time to kick internal ageism aside, and go for gold!