Ageism at the Top, and How it Trickles Down to the Nation as a Whole
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, given how ageism is baked into our everyday lives. The language we use is peppered with phraseology like “crotchety old man” and “little old lady,” and we don’t think twice. The marketing to which we are exposed is geared toward the young, or to making the rest of the population look and feel young.
All of it is not only wrongheaded and pathetic, but also dangerous. One study showed that ageism — whether in the form of discrimation, stereotyping or the negative beliefs the seniors themselves internalize — was more likely to lead to adverse health outcomes for those older individuals, that indeed it impacted longevity. The study went so far as to put the price of ageism at $63 billion a year, a calculation reached by measuring the costs of treating seniors for the eight most-expensive health conditions ( cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, musculoskeletal disorders, injuries, diabetes, the effects of smoking, mental disorders and non-communicable diseases).
There’s also the indirect tie-in between workplace ageism and public health. Simply put, we shunt older Americans off to the side at our own peril. While companies are, by and large, hesitant to hire or retain older workers, these workers bring cognitive diversity and deep-seated knowledge to any enterprise. As Brixton Finishing School founder Ally Owen put it to Thedrum.com : “ Ageism is an insidious virus that marks generations of talent as ‘redundant’ when the opposite is true — their experience is what makes them invaluable in a workplace.”
Regular work gives older employees a sense of dignity and purpose. It is the proverbial reason to get out of bed in the morning. You lose that, you lose a lot. One study concluded that retirees are 40 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than those who remain employed, and others have associated retirement with declines in mobility and mental health . There are also those, however, who maintain that the link is not so cut and dried, that what really matters is remaining physically and socially active after retirement.
Business leaders can start by shifting their view of older workers — by understanding their value and acting accordingly. But really it goes beyond that. It’s a matter of viewing seniors according to what they can do, as opposed to what they cannot. By placing them front and center as opposed to pushing them off to the side. By understanding that hopes and dreams don’t disappear with each trip around the sun.
Originally published at https://joel-landau.com on March 14, 2023.
