older worker

The Answer to the U.S. Labor Crisis: Older Workers

/in , /by

AARP recently reported on the difficulties Americans over 50 are having finding new jobs. I’m glad AARP flagged this issue, but the takeaway can’t simply be “We need to be nicer to old people.”

Instead, it’s urgent that we see this problem for what it is: a real threat to continued economic growth in the United States.

Read more

martin short steve martin

Television’s ‘Senior Moment:’ Something to Celebrate, and Build On

/in , /by

Should we be celebrating what the New York Times calls television’s “senior moment?”

It’s hard to answer “no.” But I can’t give an unequivocal “yes,” either.

Read more

samuel moyn op-ed

Offering Simplistic Solutions to Real Problems of an Aging Society

/in , , , /by

With the headline “Older Americans Are Hoarding America’s Potential,” a recent New York Times piece by Yale professor Samuel Moyn has, understandably, attracted a lot of attention in my networks.

Much of the attention is critical, and I share some of those criticisms. But let’s recognize that Moyn identifies real problems.

He writes, for example, that older Americans deserve a better-funded long-term care system. I agree. Our long-term care and healthcare systems (or lack of systems) incentivize older people to hold on to wealth in fear that a medical emergency could wipe them out financially.

Unfortunately, Moyn’s piece offers simplistic solutions to the problems he identifies. For example:

➡️Voting: He writes that older Americans are overrepresented in elections, and they contribute a disproportionate amount of campaign donations.

I agree that younger Americans should have more influence in politics. Moyn focuses on reducing the impact of older voters and the older politicians they often vote for.

Instead, we should fix a political landscape that leaves younger voters feeling like it’s not worth voting at all.

➡️ Housing: Moyn suggests “a progressive tax on older homeowners to incentivize them to downsize rather than retain.”

I think many older adults would downsize without a nudge — if there was somewhere to go.

But we’re building the wrong type of housing. Very little new stock is all-age accessible. We build tall townhouses with no elevators because developers claim they’re too expensive. New housing for young adults often includes large HOA fees.

In the end, the options for older adults who want to move are impractical or unaffordable — or both.

➡️ Workforce: Citing a lack of opportunity for young and middle-aged workers, Moyn suggests we reinstitute mandatory retirement.

But forcing out older adults who want to work makes no sense given current demographic realities.

Immigration levels are falling dramatically. The number of 18-year-olds is plummeting as well. Even if the government incentivizes larger families, that won’t make a difference for 20 years, if at all.

Given these trends, we should be asking “Where will the workers come from?” The answer is older adults. We need to expand, not reduce, the age range of our workforce.

I also have an issue with the piece more broadly: using the word “gerontocracy.” It’s sensationalist, fanning the flames of ageist ideas which will not solve the real problems Moyn outlines.

His piece sends the message — perhaps not intentionally — that our problem is too many old people with too much influence. Too many old people at work, too many old people in single-family homes, and too many old people in the political process, from voters to elected leaders.

He doesn’t go so far as to ask, “How can we reduce the number of old people in society?”

But his line of reasoning may lead others there. And that’s alarming.

age discrimination hiring workplace

When Algorithms and AI Become Excuses for Ageism

/in , /by

Jacqueline Freeman wrote an incisive piece on “youth-biased AI algorithms” weeding out job applicants aged 50 or older last summer. Then in the fall, Accenture’s CEO revealed they are “exiting” staff who “don’t have a viable path for skilling” in AI.

To me, these stories are connected.

What ties them together? Ageism.

Freeman’s piece provides a real-world look at what’s happening in today’s job market. Even though her story appeared in a UK-based publication, the points apply here in the U.S. as well.

“Men and women at the top of their game, with years of experience, just don’t tick the AI boxes” when they apply for new positions, she wrote. Often they don’t even get a reply,  ending up “ghosted.”

I have often said that ageism is a prejudice against our future selves. Freeman makes a similar point: Ageist hiring and personnel practices are undermining the future earnings of many companies.

“It’s a catastrophic loss to the workplace, because of what older workers bring that no algorithm can replicate: culture,” she writes. “We’ve seen enough to know what matters. We know when to speak, when to listen, and when to quietly fix what others haven’t noticed yet. That’s not just competence, that’s important cultural infrastructure.”

And as she looks toward the future, she asks an important question:

“We hear that automation is wiping out entry-level roles too …  meaning many of the youngest workers never get trained. So, if the young don’t get a chance at the start of their career … and the experienced are weeded out at the top, we need to seriously ask, what the hell is left in the middle?”

I would add on to Freeman’s piece by asking why so few seem to see the value of experience in the workplace.

As computer-driven algorithms, robotics and “smart” factories and devices proliferate, we’re actually going to need even smarter human beings at work. As AI and tech explode, we’ll need a greater degree of experience, perspective and judgment to use it effectively and not destructively.

Where are we going to find those qualities? Will it help if we follow Accenture’s lead and lay off employees who are deemed unable to “reskill” on artificial intelligence?

That sounds like code for pushing out older workers for younger, less expensive workers — just the opposite of what we’ll need in the industries of the future.

Organizations like Sugarwork understand this, and are focused on retaining older talent and their institutional knowledge. We need more of this.

As Freeman writes:

“This isn’t about making space (for workers in their 50s and 60s). It’s about refusing to waste it. … If you’ve got experience, own it – don’t shrink it.”

helen mirren taylor hackford aging

Helen Mirren and Society’s Condescending, Negative Attitude Toward Aging

/in , , /by

Actress Helen Mirren made news recently with her visceral reaction to murmurs of  “Awwwww” and “Isn’t that cute?” when she and her husband, both in their 80s, hold hands in public.

“It’s like, excuse my language: ‘F*%$ off,’ ” she said during a recent promotional appearance. “There’s something very condescending about some people’s attitudes, and I think they think they are being kind and generous. But they’re not. They’re being insulting.”

Mirren’s strong reaction is understandable and justifiable. In the situation she describes, like many others, people assume that when you reach a certain age, you’re no longer qualified to exhibit what are really just normal adult behaviors.

To many younger people, an older couple showing affection is a surprise and a novelty. Their reaction shows it.

Mirren is right to label it as patronizing.

But in the same appearance, she made a deeper point which may be getting lost:

As you get older, she said, “you lose certain stuff, but you gain other stuff.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Yes, we lose things as we age. It might be physical prowess. Maybe some degree of mental acuity. Sadly, we lose some friends.

But what do we gain?

The top benefit, I would say, is gaining invaluable perspective with age.

The knowledge and experience we accrue brings wisdom about ourselves and about life.

We learn lessons.

We figure out what works for us and what doesn’t.

And we even discover that certain things that we’re at risk of losing, we actually may be able to keep them as long as we use them (see my recent LinkedIn post on losing cognitive skills as we age).

Thanks to society’s stubborn ageism — and the internalized ageism older adults often imbibe — we tend to focus on the negative aspects of getting older. We miss the positive aspects of aging.

That’s a real problem, because it’s never been more important to highlight those positives. Our society is getting older. And, on average, people are living longer.

If we want longevity to be a bonus instead of a curse, we need to recognize the benefits of being an older adult and restructure both our expectations and our social and economic systems to capture these benefits.

Imbued with perspective, experience and wisdom, older adults can help boost our economy, strengthen volunteer organizations and build stronger communities.

Or perhaps I should say they can, if we let them.

bob kramer slif talk 2025

A New Narrative of Aging Can Solve Big Problems

/in , , /by

We desperately need a new narrative about aging in the United States.

Why? Perhaps the biggest reason is that it will create opportunities to address some of our country’s most pressing problems.

I was happy to have the chance to describe these opportunities during my talk last summer at the Senior Living Innovation Forum (SLIF) in New Mexico. You can watch the full presentation below, but I’ll hit the highlights in the text, too.

Before I get to the ways a new narrative of aging can solve big problems, I’ll share the four reasons our current, outdated narrative doesn’t work:

➡️ It doesn’t speak to the realities of age and aging in 2025.

➡️ It doesn’t speak to the desires of Boomers, Gen Xers, or their Millennial children.

➡️ It is rooted in a framework of moral obligation that is at risk of collapsing.

➡️ It doesn’t speak to the needs of our society today — in fact, it often exacerbates those needs instead.

The fourth reason leads to the assertion I made at the beginning of this post: A new narrative about aging will create opportunities to address some of our most pressing problems.

In the current narrative, older adults are a burden and net takers — not givers or contributors.

But given the increase in longevity (and healthy longevity) we are seeing, there’s even more reason to view older Americans as a vital asset rather than a costly liability.

If we do, they are well-positioned to help solve some of the toughest challenges our society faces:

💪 Workforce: Immigration is decreasing and deportations are increasing. But adults aged 55 to 80 remain the largest untapped workforce in America.

💪 Volunteerism: If we encourage and accept older adults into the ranks of volunteers, they will create enormous social capital. Whether it’s mentoring, teaching, or even caregiving, their contributions are desperately needed.

💪 Loneliness: We’re seeing alarmingly high rates of isolation and loneliness among those aged 18 to 29. Intergenerational programming and housing — connecting younger adults with older adults — can help ameliorate this crisis.

💪 Healthcare costs: Older adults can help curb escalating healthcare costs by spurring a move from a “sickcare” system, where they drive volume and cost, to a “wellcare” system that prioritizes prevention, prediction and proactive management of chronic conditions.

💪 Community building: Sadly, we have become a badly fractured society. Who better than older adults, with their reserves of perspective and wisdom, to play a key role in healing those rifts, especially at the community level.

If we can’t change our narrative of aging, we’ll miss out on these opportunities. Instead, our problems will grow worse, while increased longevity becomes more and more of a  burden for older adults — and for our society.

Here’s the recording of my talk:

elderspeak and older adults

Why ‘Elderspeak’ Is Demeaning and Dehumanizing

/in , /by

At a certain age, we all start to notice people sprinkling “elderspeak” into their conversations with us.

👉 At the grocery store: “Hey sweetie, let me help you find that.”

👉 On a customer service call: “I see we need help with the silly remote control.”

👉 In a caregiving setting: “It’s time for your pills, isn’t it dear?”

This softening of language usually comes from good intentions, but to most older ears, it grates — or produces a worse, more damaging reaction. That’s why I was thrilled to see Paula Span write about elderspeak in the New York Times.

Elderspeak infantilizes older adults, sending the message that they’ve lost their capabilities and competencies. It’s ultimately demeaning and dehumanizing.

Paula’s article focuses on elderspeak in caregiving. But this phenomenon is not limited to assisted living, memory care or home care settings. Nor is it limited to conversations about health and physical or mental challenges.

I have encountered an infuriating type of elderspeak when touring some senior living buildings. A resident approaches, and the executive director will introduce them in the past tense:

“This is Mr. Jones. He used to have a job at the Pentagon.”

Or:

“This is Mrs. Smith. She had a long career as an artist.”

I respond by turning to the resident and asking questions like:

👉 “What are you doing today?”

👉 “What do you love about living here?”

👉 “What’s the thing that most excites you about your days here?”

And at the end of the tour, I’ll turn to the executive director and say, “Do you realize what you just did? You talked about that person — in front of them — in the past tense. It’s like saying that the real person has left, and all that’s left here is their shell.”

Beyond the immediate discouraging or demoralizing impact of elderspeak, it also contributes to internalized ageism — a belief that if others think you are less of a person because of your age, they might just be right.

As Yale professor Becca Levy has written, elderspeak “begins a negative downward spiral for older adults who react with decreased self-esteem, depression and withdrawal.”

These reactions have a proven effect on how long and how well we live.

As I said, elderspeak often comes from good intentions, as the speaker tries to show care and compassion for an older adult.

But there’s a difference between showing care and compassion and treating someone as if they are no longer an adult. It’s an important difference.

Elderspeak strips away an older adult’s sense of independent self-worth and agency.

It ignores a basic fact: When you’re talking to an older adult, there’s a real person there. And no matter their age or condition, they want to be treated like a real person.

aging is not a disease

No, Aging Is Not a Disease

/in , , /by

I can’t believe I have to say this: Aging is not a disease.

You might have seen the same Wall Street Journal story that I did earlier this year, raising the question in its headline: “The Scientific Fight Over Whether Aging Is a Disease.”

Initially, I was appalled — anyone who considers aging a disease is stigmatizing a huge population group.

But it’s worse than that. I can’t help but wonder if some are seeking this classification for the sake of drug companies and others who want to promote the latest version of the “Fountain of Youth.” It’s an awful idea.

Chasing youth is practically our national pastime. But in the age of longevity, what many miss is the fact that a large percentage of older adults, especially Boomers and Gen-Xers, aren’t looking for magic potions, and we know we’re not going to feel like we’re 25 again. We have to be both honest and realistic about what I describe as the aches, pains and inconveniences that accompany our advancing years.

To get the most out of our later years, we focus on the advantages that come with being older, from the wisdom to make better choices to a fundamental happiness that is hard to come by earlier in life.

There’s real value in the experience, maturity and perspective of older adults. As a society, we risk losing it if we see everyone past a certain age as carrying the “disease” of aging. We’ll end up in a place where:

👉 Ageist stereotypes grow stronger as getting older is viewed as something bad and to be avoided.

👉 Those who have “succumbed to the disease of aging” are viewed as net takers in society.

👉 We’ll view the coming surge in the number of older adults as a disaster, instead of an opportunity to leverage added longevity for the benefit of all society.

Sadly, the labeling of aging as a disease seems likely to enable “get-young-quick” schemes that will prey on vulnerable older adults, while lining the pockets of people who are promoting their drug, their food, or their program as the key to eternal youth.

In the end, classifying aging as a disease might help these long-life enthusiasts — but it will do precious little for older Americans.

Illustration courtesy Wall Street Journal

longer lives and old age

Changing the Perception of What ‘Old Age’ Means — And What Older People Can Contribute

/in , /by

“What we’ve done with these longer lives is to basically make them fit into our existing life-course ideas, so the only stage of life that actually got longer is old age.”

That’s a quote from Laura Carstensen in a Q&A in The Wall Street Journal that brilliantly captures the present situation for older adults.

American society is still set up for people to retire in their 60s and die about 10 years later. But on average, we live much longer lives than that now. There has been no adjustment.

That means that adults are viewed as “old” in their 60s, and they stay that way in many people’s eyes as they live into their 80s or 90s.

The most obvious problem with this is simple ageism: It’s wrong to consign a growing cohort of millions to 20 or 30 years of stereotype-fueled cultural irrelevance.

But we also have to realize that there are countless Americans in their 60s, 70s and 80s who could make enormous contributions to society:

👉 They can help power our economy — the largest untapped workforce in America today is older adults.

👉 They can strengthen our social fabric — we have never needed volunteers to be mentors, tutors, caregivers, etc. more than we need them today.

👉 They can enrich our communities — many older adults are ready and willing to help improve our world through causes and philanthropy.

So we need to change our perception. If we view old age as an interminable period of 20, 30, or even 40 years where people have little to offer and increasingly burden the younger generations, we’ll make life miserable for older adults and miss out on huge opportunities that longevity has presented.

As I often say, the change has to start with young people. They have the most at stake. Today’s older Americans are benefiting from a bit of longevity. But young adults are projected to live even longer lives.

If they don’t want to be sentenced to decades of societal irrelevance, they need to start changing our norms and expectations today.

new stage of life

Why Aren’t We Investing In Our New Stage of Life?

/in , , , /by

Have you noticed:

• When funding for programs for young people is debated, we talk about “investing in our children.”

• When the defense budget is under consideration, we talk about “investing in national security.”

• But when subsidies for long-term care and other benefits for older adults are part of a government spending debate, the word “investment” seems to vanish.

This is a key reason that it’s difficult to secure additional, much-needed funding to support older adults. The public doesn’t see that increased longevity has created a new stage of life, nor that investing in that stage offers benefits to all of us.

Instead, as I wrote in a previous post, older adults are viewed as “net takers” in society. Few people see the possibilities created as large numbers of older adults enter a new, uncharted stage of life.

Some key points about this stage of life (which has been described so well by Laura Carstensen and the Stanford Center on Longevity):

• On average, Americans are living significantly longer now. The premise that most of us will retire in our 60s and die five or 10 years later is no longer operable.

• That means many older Americans have additional decades of potentially useful life. Some want (or need) to use those years to continue to work, some want to volunteer, some want to be mentors.

• The older Americans who still want a job comprise the largest untapped workforce available to us right now. Adding them to (or keeping them in) the labor pool provides experience and wisdom, which makes a difference. Studies show that multigenerational workforces perform better than chronologically homogenous teams.

• As Ken Dychtwald has written, we have the chance to convert the older Americans interested in volunteering into an army working on the most pressing social problems we have.

• Our vision of life after 50 is flawed, as Jonathan Rauch wrote recently in The Atlantic. Reaching this new stage of life “brings gains, too: greater equanimity, more emotional resilience, and what Carstensen and others have called the positivity effect, a heightened appreciation of life’s blessings.”

If we don’t recognize these gains, we won’t grasp the full extent of benefits that older adults can bring to society.

(Rauch’s piece also correctly credits thinkers like Andrew J. Scott, Phyllis Moen, Chip Conley, Marc Freedman and Ashton Applewhite for their important work on this subject.)

• It’s important to remember that not every American can count on this new stage of life. We are not seeing uniform increases in longevity across socioeconomic, racial or ethnic lines.

Add it all up, and it’s clear that an investment in older Americans could produce immense dividends. Our economy, our social fabric and our sense of community would benefit.

But the investment in the new stage of life will only happen if the public starts seeing it through that lens — as an investment.

© Nexus Insights. All rights reserved.