Ten years ago, a pharma company survey found that 87% of Americans have a fear of getting old.
These fears can range from concerns around a decline in physical ability (23 percent), memory loss (15 percent), and having a chronic disease (12 percent).
In the decade since, things haven’t gotten much better, if the recent furore about the president’s age is a yardstick to measure public sentiment.
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Joe Biden has the distinction of being not only the 46th president of the United States, but the oldest sitting president in the country’s history. At 81, he is three years older than his former opponent and current presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who, at 78, is the same age Biden was when he was inaugurated.
As the adage goes, with age comes experience––so surely the older a presidential candidate is, the better?
The majority of the general public tend to disagree. Before Biden bowed out of the race, 74 percent of registered voters thought he was “just too old to be an effective president”.
Of the cohort who voted for Biden in 2020, 62 percent believe he is now too old, and the 58 percent who disclosed they would vote for him again also revealed that they believe he is too old to be an effective president.
While it’s unusual for company chiefs to keep working into their eighties—the average retirement age in the U.S. is 64 years old—additional research has found that 1 in 4 U.S. adults aged 50 and older say they never expect to retire, with 70 percent stating that financial security is a concern.
Similarly, a study conducted by Pew Research found that 77 percent of current workers expect to keep working after retirement age.
Boomer bias?
However, with workers getting older, particularly those in senior leadership roles, ageism in the workplace is a growing worry—90 percent of workers over the age of 50 believe age discrimination is common against older workers.
This is despite the fact that many of the most common and cliched attitudes to older workers have no merit or medical facts to back them up.
The UCSF Memory and Aging Center highlights that although age-related changes in brain structures are a common aspect of aging and can lead to thinking changes, not all cognitive abilities decline with age and vocabulary. Reading and verbal reasoning can not only remain unchanged, but can improve with age.
Research has also found that those who don’t smoke, exercise regularly, get routine medical care, have a healthy diet, and continue doing challenging things that they enjoy can maintain brain health.
Additionally, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.
So, how can older workers bolster their position in the workplace?
Pushing back against ageism is the first step, so older workers should be aware that age-stereotypes and perceptions around technology illiteracy can be challenged and squashed by adopting a learning mindset, particularly when it comes to new software or AI productivity tools that can streamline efficiency and increase output.
However, being aware that age-related bias exists is essential, whether you’re at the end of your career or a Gen Z rookie constantly being referred to as a snowflake, so it’s important not to internalize this bias and instead address it head-on.
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A study conducted by the World Health Organisation found that when older people are exposed to subliminal negative age stereotypes they are more likely to perform badly on cognitive and physical tasks. Conversely, older people who have a more positive perception of what aging means tend to have better health and cognitive function.
The report also found that ageism can pit generations against each other, devalue or limit our ability to benefit from contributions and perspectives from older and younger generations, and can also have far-reaching economic consequences.
Despite all this, if you suspect that your current employer doesn’t value your experience and is passing you up for younger candidates on everything from projects to promotions, it could be time to reassess your options and look for a new opportunity where your experience and expertise is valued.
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