Older workers bring a lot to the table — yet are often overlooked

When Liz Jones, 63, took an early retirement package a couple of years ago, she did so because she saw the writing on the wall.

Jones (name changed for professional reasons) was a senior human resources leader for a large global company in New Jersey, where she’d been for over 20 years. Yet she started feeling pushed out when her bosses began excluding her from meetings and sending colleagues on business trips in her place. Soon after, her position was eliminated and she was given a severance package.

“The theory is they wanted to bring some fresh blood into the organization,” said Jones. “Legacy employees [with significant years of service] typically have richer benefits, high pensions. They get rid of people in those expensive pensions. It was an obvious strategy.”

Jones encountered challenges landing a new job, spending four hours a day applying, truncating her résumé to include only the past 20 years and incorporating new certifications while omitting graduation dates of degrees earned (although applicant tracking systems typically require the graduation year).

“I didn’t know how much of my identity was my job, so this had a bigger impact on me than just my finances,” said Jones, who eventually landed a contract consulting role. “It affected my self-worth, relationships with my friends and family and my self-esteem.”

Jones isn’t alone in experiencing ageism, when employers assume attitudes about someone’s capabilities based solely on their biological years.

Although the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects people 40 and older from prejudice in hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, benefits, job assignments, training, layoff and harassment, in reality, it’s still occurring.

According to an Ageism in the Workplace Survey conducted in May by résumé building site Resume Now, 90% of workers who are 40 or older have experienced ageism at work and approximately half of respondents said their employer mainly hires younger workers.

If it happens to you, Midtown East attorney Albert Rizzo suggested speaking to an employment attorney.

“An attorney will want to understand what actions the employer has taken and whether those actions were based on the employee’s age,” said Rizzo. “Any adverse action may create a viable claim. These actions can include failure to promote, denial of privileges given to other employees, exclusion from meetings and projects.”

Employers who aren’t jumping at the chance to hire seasoned, experienced workers like Jones may be missing out, since they tend to be more loyal and have lower turnover rates compared to younger workers. As Americans live longer, healthier lives, they also have more viable working years, and in addition to contributing valuable soft skills such as communication and relationship building, can mentor younger colleagues.

“Employers are definitely missing the boat, although not as much as before,” said Christopher Farrell, senior economics contributor, Marketplace and Minnesota Public Radio, columnist and author of “Purpose and a Paycheck: Finding Meaning, Money and Happiness in the Second Half of Life” (AMACOM). “The statistic that best illustrates the underlying trend for me comes from the US Census Bureau forecast, which said that by 2034 there will be more people 65 years and older than under the age of 18. Little wonder the workforce is also aging.”

Data shows that companies excel when generations interact, according to a global study published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2020, “Promoting an Age-Inclusive Workforce: Living, Learning and Earning Longer.” The study concluded that age diversity can boost an organization’s productivity, so the sum is greater than its parts. Additionally, strong correlations may occur between young and older workers.

“Generally, older workers have crystallized experiences and wisdom and know how to carefully and effectively navigate crises at work with an eye on limiting unintended consequences,” noted Guillermo E. Gonzales, professor of social work at New York University.

Yet, age bias isn’t exclusive to seasoned workers. “Ageism doesn’t just happen to older workers,” said Gonzales. “Younger workers are also targets of ageism.”

Dr. Tracey Gendron, chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology and author of “Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It” (Steerforth), agreed. “Age-based discrimination at work — toward those of any age — prohibits people from fulfilling their societal potential,” she said. “When otherwise qualified people are kept out of work roles due to their age, it strains economic growth, forces tension in the workplace and creates division, leading to reduced productivity. You’re left with a potential worker who cannot contribute to society economically and a business with unrealized income.

”Gendron said ageism is “one of the most common forms of employment discrimination” and if companies consistently demonstrate ageist behavior, she suggested advocating for ageism training that focuses on creating an age-inclusive environment.

Christie Smith, Ph.D., founder of leadership advisory company the Humanity Studio and co-author of “Essential: How Distributed Teams, Generative AI, and Global Shifts are Creating a New Human-Powered Leadership” (Wiley), believes companies should be creating a community.

“Organizations should be talking about an alumni network,” she said. “Begin to build an alumni mindset from the moment somebody walks in the door. We should be thinking of our employees as employees for life.”

Above all, age should be viewed as an asset rather than a liability.

“What we can all do is recognize that aging is the one universal thing that every human being on the planet has in common,” said Gendron. “Embracing the process of aging and valuing all stages of life would help create a society that can see the unique contributions of people across the lifespan.”