An aging population in search of new jobs, or focused on trying to hold onto the ones they have, are having to cope with a well-entrenched stream of ageism—and it doesn’t wait till people hit 65 to rear its ugly head.

According to a study from FairyGodBoss, age discrimination is not only common, it starts earlier than most people might expect.

In fact, workers as young as 45—or even younger—are experiencing ageism in mid-career, with 30 percent of men and 27 percent of women reporting that they’ve run up against “a negative age-based remark from a coworker,” the most common form; that’s just a tad ahead of “respondents’ belief that they were passed over for a job due to their age.”

Then there’s being passed over for a promotion or even being laid off.

In addition, 32 percent report being told that they’re overqualified for a job they’ve applied for, while 19 percent report interviewers asking about their age.

That’s led to some taking such steps as coloring their hair, dressing differently than they normally would or even resorting to plastic surgery or Botox to make themselves look younger—or lying about their ages or the dates on their resumes.

Understandably, those who have experienced ageism firsthand are leery of future similar encounters, and are 3.6 times more likely to be afraid of getting shoved out the door because of their age.

In addition, 44 percent of respondents say they’ve seen displays of ageism in their workplace. And more than half of respondents say they figure it will be tough to hang on to a job between the ages of 50–64.

Meanwhile, those who haven’t been exposed to ageism take a much better view of older workers—that their experience and age diversity also make for better teams with more productivity.

And ageism is certainly nothing to dismiss lightly, since the report adds that “Ageist remarks and comments, when internalized, have proven to have negative impacts on a person’s mental and physical health so it’s important to combat ageism at every level of a company.”

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Instant Insights /

Workplace age discrimination starts younger than you'd think

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