Ageism Hurts Gen X, too — Especially in the Workplace

Generation X is not the cohort that comes up first during discussions of ageism. But Gen X definitely is feeling the impact of age-related bias in the workplace — to their detriment, and the detriment of their myopic employers.

In a 2022 AARP survey, roughly 80% of workers aged 40 to 65 said they had either witnessed or personally faced age discrimination at work. That’s the highest percentage recorded since AARP began asking older adults about the issue in 2003.

Gen Xers, whose ages will range between 44 and 59 in 2024, are experiencing ageism at a particularly bad moment. Many are mid-career and in the “sandwich” phase of life, where they are both caring for kids and aging parents. They face significant burdens on both their time and their money, and most are not ready to stop working.

Yet they face the same tropes and false assumptions about age and aging that Boomers are confronting.

Christina Matz, associate professor at the Boston College School of Social Work and director of the Center on Aging and Work, described Xers’ plight in a recent BBC piece:

“They’re labeled as slower and set in their ways, well-meaning on one hand and incompetent on the other,” Matz said. “People of a certain age are considered out of touch, and not seen as progressive and innovative.”

In the same piece, Anne Burmeister, a professor in the faculty of management, economics and social sciences at the University of Cologne, Germany, says “Assumptions like these are not only potentially discriminatory and often inaccurate, they’re also at odds with today’s workforce realities,” adding they make “no business sense.”

I couldn’t agree more. So many U.S. industries need workers right now. As the BBC piece points out, older workers are experienced, often with a strong work ethic, lower rates of absenteeism, and better emotional stability than their younger colleagues.

So ageist practices are counter-productive for employers. They’re alienating and dismissing what could be a core segment of their workforce.

There are notable companies, such as the startup Sugarwork, that are seeking to help companies address this issue. They assist in retaining institutional knowledge, talent and leadership, as well as keeping older workers engaged in meaningful ways.

Similarly, author Andrew J. Scott’s books “The 100 Year Life” and “The Longevity Imperative” (which will be released this month in the U.S.), recognize that more people will live into their 80s, 90s and even 100s in the near future, so writing off workers in their 50s is folly. The social demographic trends are undeniable.

The only people who seem to be in denial are the leaders in HR departments and corporate boardrooms, as they decide who to hire, who to promote and who to retain based on unfair, inaccurate stereotypes.