tangomonster
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2006
- Messages
- 757
Being a worrier and somewhat of a pessimist (although I think of it as realism), I felt that there was some age discrimination going on in my job situation as I got into my middle and then late forties and then early fifties.
I was dependent on referrals from counselors in the state agency, most of whom were much younger than me. I felt that my expertise and experience were not being valued by them; they preferred to refer to younger people whom they could hang out with socially. My employer even made comments about wanting to hire an attractive younger person for the receptionist job (which I know a lot of companies do want to have some eye candy for the first impression, but to admit it?) and wanting "energetic, enthuasiastic young people" (even though some of us older folk actually were more productive and stable, with better work ethics and less personal distractions). DH, when he got laid off in his forties, was unable to find another pharmaceutical sales job because drug companies at that point had started to hire young women in their twenties and a forty something male just wasn't what they were looking for, even though he had years of successful experience. (They have now been concentrating on hiring college cheerleaders, regardless of their major---I kid you not! Maybe that is why drug costs are skyrocketing---keeping them in pom poms gets costly!
But now I feel vindicated, like it wasn't all in my head. In this week's Newsweek, an article by Jane Bryant Quinn on ER says that "40% of retirees are forced to leave work earlier than they planned. After your 50th birthday, your employment options narrow. If you're twenty years older than your boss. you can assume your days are numbered. You have to be ready if your boss, your knees, or your spirit cries "halt."
I wonder why this is the case. I guess society just became more and more youth-oriented. But years ago, I thought most people were able to stay employed until 65 or whenever they wanted to leave. Too bad experience and maturity is no longer valued....
I was dependent on referrals from counselors in the state agency, most of whom were much younger than me. I felt that my expertise and experience were not being valued by them; they preferred to refer to younger people whom they could hang out with socially. My employer even made comments about wanting to hire an attractive younger person for the receptionist job (which I know a lot of companies do want to have some eye candy for the first impression, but to admit it?) and wanting "energetic, enthuasiastic young people" (even though some of us older folk actually were more productive and stable, with better work ethics and less personal distractions). DH, when he got laid off in his forties, was unable to find another pharmaceutical sales job because drug companies at that point had started to hire young women in their twenties and a forty something male just wasn't what they were looking for, even though he had years of successful experience. (They have now been concentrating on hiring college cheerleaders, regardless of their major---I kid you not! Maybe that is why drug costs are skyrocketing---keeping them in pom poms gets costly!
But now I feel vindicated, like it wasn't all in my head. In this week's Newsweek, an article by Jane Bryant Quinn on ER says that "40% of retirees are forced to leave work earlier than they planned. After your 50th birthday, your employment options narrow. If you're twenty years older than your boss. you can assume your days are numbered. You have to be ready if your boss, your knees, or your spirit cries "halt."
I wonder why this is the case. I guess society just became more and more youth-oriented. But years ago, I thought most people were able to stay employed until 65 or whenever they wanted to leave. Too bad experience and maturity is no longer valued....