When you have to keep working, you do — despite the problems in the workplace.
And the nearly 9 million workers 65 and older are doing just that, despite the persistence of ageism, according to an HRDive report.
Fearing running out of money in retirement, older workers are doggedly hanging in there, even though younger workers are more likely to get a call back for a job and nearly two thirds of people aged 45–74 responding to an AARP study say they've been subject to age discrimination.
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Shockingly, 92 percent of older workers report ageism is common, but one apparently doesn't have to be all that old to be shut out by employers in search of ever-younger workers, since even 35-year-old millennials report being discriminated against based on age.
A CityLab report finds that while employers say they value older workers' knowledge, the truth is that they don't treat them that way — and older women, in particular, are subject to ageist attitudes. Companies often include those attitudes in their job posts, including such phrases as "new or recent graduates," specifying a graduation year or calling for "digital natives."
Other common exclusionary terms that can discourage older workers from even applying include "energetic," "willing to grow" and "able to work in a fast-paced environment."
In particular, according to CityLab, the tech industry is a problem in itself. Laurie Orlov, principal analyst for the market research firm Aging in Place Technology Watch, says in the report that the tech industry is guilty of a "longstanding neglect of older adults."
While tech companies keep churning out an endless stream of new devices and user experiences, they're "not helping people with staying current," she says in the report.
HRDive's report says that employers often harbor a presumption that older people are resistant to change, won't keep pace with workplace operations and don't have basic technological skills.
But with boomers working longer, there's help available from AARP, which provides advice to older workers on such topics as changing careers, job-hunting strategies, learning technological skills and resume writing.
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