#36: The Ugly Truth of Ageism in 2021
Our lives are full of crossroads. If you’ve listened to some of my earliest podcasts, you already know that we experience a life disruptor every 18 months, on average. Which is more often than some people visit the dentist.
But, when it comes to the mid-career worker, the darkness of these critical junctures is real. Workers ages 45-60 make up the bulk of the long-term unemployed in many countries, and they face growing barriers to finding good jobs.
A recent report from the nonprofit organization, Generation, on a study conducted in spring 2021 reveals that:
Mid-career workers make up the bulk of the long-term unemployed, even though they perform on the job as well or better than their younger peers.
They have to make significant compromises—new industry, reduced pay, part-time work—to generate income...much more so than younger workers.
Hiring managers tend to have the following biases toward older workers: reluctant to try new technology, unable to learn new skills, have difficulty working with other generations.
While training and workshops have proven to be some of the most effective means for older workers to build their confidence and make progress on their career path, most workers 45+ are not excited about pursuing career training.
But I’m a yeasayer, so this status quo just won’t fly with me. That’s why I’m honored to do the work I do. It’s saying bullshift to workplace conventions.
But to defeat our enemy, we must first get to know it. And that’s what we’ll explore in this week’s episode.
I know you’re busy, so let me just jump to the punchline: midcareer individuals across the world are finding it harder to get jobs—despite more calls to address inequality and advance social justice. The report from Generation, which you can read at their website, confirms and quantifies the finding that people age 45+ face persistent and rising pressure in the global job market. They’re unemployed for much longer than the median, and their age is one of the greatest barriers to finding a job.
Those from underrepresented communities face even greater barriers: they engage in 53 percent more interviews to get a job offer. And the research shows that hiring managers have a strong perception bias against 45+ job candidates—they believe that members of this age cohort have poor skills and low adaptability.
We Gen-Xers can’t get a break, eh? First we’re ignored or overlooked, and then people are slapping all sorts of preconceived notions about our capabilities onto us.
Other findings point to deepening problems ahead, my friend:
One warning light: people age 45+ who did manage to switch careers successfully express high dissatisfaction with the quality of their entry-level jobs—even as employers, especially in the booming tech sector, keep raising the qualification bar on those very jobs.
Another: the 45+ individuals who need training the most to get a job are the most hesitant to pursue it.
By contrast, 45+ individuals who have successfully switched professions believe that training has been central to their ability to do so, and employers concur.
The high prevalence of long-term unemployment among 45+ job seekers represents a human tragedy on a global scale. People in long-term unemployment typically face significant financial strain—and are more likely to experience mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, with each job rejection being felt on a deeply personal level. Long-term unemployed people also report widespread difficulties in their family relationships.
So, of course, it’s no surprise, then, that 45+ individuals commonly regard age as one of the biggest barriers they face in finding a job. In the research study, 1 in 2 people who had successfully switched careers thought this. 3 in 4 unemployed midcareerists thought this. And this true across the globe.
The takeaway? Age is a formidable barrier no matter where you live.
Does it sound like I’m piling on yet? Because there’s more.
COVID-19 has exacerbated everything. This isn’t a surprise, of course. But it’s further compounded by reduced pay, halting benefits, and other various challenges.
While no single action will solve the challenges uncovered by this research, there’s hope, my friend.
First, make the problem more well-known by getting even granular in our studies of different age brackets, which can help policymakers better understand the distinct challenges of the 45-60 cohort.
Second, practitioners and policymakers can, in turn, link free training programs directly to employment opportunities, and provide stipends to support 45+ individuals who are hesitant to train. I say this because this was such a big boost to midcareer switchers. But for the segment of the 45+ population who are hesitant to undertake training—those with secondary school attainment and an income level that barely allows them to make ends meet—training can conjure up memories of negative school experiences. It can also require time and money that they cannot afford. The survey indicates that coupling free training with job guarantees (or at least job-interview guarantees), along with stipends to cover living expenses, can make the hesitant much more willing to participate.
Employers can change hiring practices to get a clearer view of potential 45+ candidate talent. Most of the 45+ individuals who manage to make it through the interview process perform as well as, if not better than, their younger peers; they also have longer retention. Yet too few 45+ individuals are making it through the door—particularly those from underrepresented communities. Pushing through requires overcoming a host of biases held by hiring managers about this group’s job readiness, technical skills, and fit. One answer could be to shift from a traditional CV-centered interview to an interview process that enables 45+ candidates to show their skills through demonstration-based exercises.
Employers can rethink current approaches to make it easier to fill new and revamped roles with existing 45+ employees, instead of relying solely on new hires. Given forecasts that one-third of all jobs worldwide will be transformed by technology, simply hiring new graduates will not suffice to fill all the new roles required. Employers have 45+ employees who have been with them for decades; and, as the survey shows, about half of the 45+ workforce is ready to move from their current profession to a new one. Success in reskilling 45+ employees will demand deeper reflection and concerted action by employers to overcome age-based biases within their own organization.
While we’re just at the beginning of our global Midcareer Moment. The clash between deep, ongoing changes in the way we work, and the rapid aging of societies across most of the world is only going to intensify.
But there’s an especially bright note I need to emphasize: yes, hiring managers express bias against 45+ individuals. But those very same employers also acknowledge that, once they hire people over 45, those workers perform on the job just as well as or even better than their peers who are a decade younger.
Yes, in a world in which decisions are made on the basis of fact, the employment prospects of 45+ individuals should be much better than they are today. And when we can confront the reality of the global challenge that 45+ workers face, then we’re making progress.
Stop listening to the old trope that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Embrace the research that confirms that older workers are capable of tremendous adaptability in switching careers and mastering new roles.
Remember: this is your midcareer moment. And if you wish to meet YOUR midcareer moment and turn it into your midcareer momentum, let’s set up a 1:1, 60-minute consult at meghankrause.com/breakthrough.
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