It seems when the bottom fell out of the economy here in the United States it also fell out of my employment options. Prior to that I was earning a living working as a Temporay worker. I had quite a few jobs coming my way and I was still out there looking for permanent employment as well, but nothing seem to be happening on that front. So, I continued working as a temporary worker doing various jobs for various companies, then came financial crisis and the jobs weren't there any longer. That's not to say I wasn't trying I still contacted my agencies every day, and I was still looking for work. Some told me that my age I was in my early to mid forties then was part of the problem. I didn't understant why because you would think with age would come experience along with reliability. But now years later I am working online because well if no one would hire me I had to do it myself, I have had some decent jobs and some not so decent out here. I have also had my ups and downs where I have made good money then none at all. I didn't know if it was me who just had this problem, but then I started hearing about others on the news in the later forties and fities having the same issue. I also now know someone with a whole lot of vialbe work experience who can't seem to find work now that they are in their mid fifties. I don't know if this has to do with our age and the fact that companies see someone as being close to reitirement age so why invest in them. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that someone in a higher position could feel threatened by an older person with expericence because they could take their job or if it has to do with the fact that companies feel if they go with a younger not so experienced person they won't have to pay them as much. Not sure which of these is the reason perhaps its a mixture of all three.
One thing I have noticed is that recruitment ads and Work For Us pages always show images of young attractive people. They never show pictures of anyone over the age of 30. I think most of the people working in recruitment and PR are young themselves and they might think that an older person will not fit in with younger co-workers or with the company image. Now that people are living longer, most of us stay healthy and fit long after the age of 40. The fact is that older employees are generally more reliable and usually take less time off work than young employees who regularly go out partying and stay up late at night.
Hannah, I know exactly what you're talking about. Even though there is not suppose to be discrimination against age it still exists. The younger generation to me now holds upper management positions. Which is all well and good but their perceptions are focused on technology and its advancements in the workplace not years of experience the seniors have. Companies also look at cost of healthcare for seniors too. It would costs less for employees that are younger and healthier. Seniors that are close to retirement raise eyebrows with questions already answered how long if hired are they going to stay? 5, 10 years at the most. But seniors do still have options open to them which I myself have been considering. Self employment is one, others are to switch career interests or go back to school, seek out jobs that train. It may take time and that's one thing that we've got.
I if someone know the struggle of looking for a job in the older age; All the employers seem to be looking for younger blood and they do not appreciate elders at all. I think that is really discriminating but they do have a point. Still, finding a part-time job was a pain for me.
Molly I think it's very discriminatory too. Where I work, there are some of us who are older, and some who are in their early twenties. Honestly we older people work circles around the young ones. They complain all the time about having to work, and when management isn't around, they're texting. Their breaks stretch far longer than the 15 minutes they're supposed to have, and they just don't seem to think they should have to work. But when promotion time comes, they never even consider anyone over 30!
I have always felt that people our age are the lost generation. I was just saying this to my son today, those of us at the end of the boomers got the short straw, we never really were in the position to get the great stable jobs because there were so many ahead of us in the job market already. So we settled and played the game putting in our time, and I don't know what happened but here I am at 52 with nothing to show for the efforts. I watched my whole life, and bought the line that if you just work hard enough, through the natural process you would end up in the place those people ten years older were in, that is a place in the workforce with a pension, vacations to where ever, a modest home and a corvette. It just never happened like that for me. Luckily I was born poor so it was no shock remaining poor. I have seen two things in the job market, the first thing is there are many people still in jobs that they should have retired from already. In my past two positions there were people over the age of 70 that just did not want to retire. The one woman would make me so angry, she was not poor and yet she worked at salary, taking ample time off and basically getting everyone else to do the real work. I would be angry because here was me trying so hard just to keep the lights on and I felt that this old bat was just being greedy. Sort of the same thing at my current job, this woman is 74 takes entire months off and only works about 15-17 hours a week, yet she pulls quite a salary. I on the other hand work close to 60 hours a week and make half that pay. I also have not had a vacation since 2007. I try not to have sour grapes, but this woman is collecting social security, has medicare and a husband with a pension and retirement. I get to pay my own health care because I am to young for medicare and struggle just to keep the lights on. Is it her fault I never remarried or did not do better in my life? I don't think it is, but at the same token i do not like hearing about her month of drinking in Aruba, or about how she has to get a limo so they can go out on the town. I just feel like had this been the 1970's these folks would have been long retired. As long as there are older people in the workforce that don't really need it, jobs for those that do need it are blocked. I have contemplated taking a night shift job at the grocery store stocking shelves or something (mind you I work a professional position now) I feel that if I have to do that, there is some younger person maybe with little kids that will not have a job. It does flow right down the line. It is a sad state, and I know when I do get to retire I will only have social security, there is no pension for me. At the best I will not have to pay for my own medical insurance anymore. I guess it is just the luck of the draw, and I got the short straw this life.
I don't think it's sour grapes and what if it is? You're making some really good points here. I work with a person just like the ones you mentioned. She pretty much sets her own schedule, and doesn't accomplish much at all when she's on the job. I wonder why they don't just retire and let someone else move up the ladder, or at least give the company a chance to hire people who will actually work!
Quoting Jenn Windey "As long as there are older people in the workforce that don't really need it, jobs for those that do need it are blocked" And the government keeps raising the retirement age and at the same time complaining about the lack of jobs. It would make more sense to lower the retirement age and make more jobs available for young people.
When I was young I thought that nobody would ever retire and I could get a better position. When I use to be in management it was always a difficult decision choosing young and willing to learn and older with experience. Sometimes it was their personality in the second interview that war the decision maker.
Here is my dilemma. I worked as a Secretary back in the 80's then I quit to raise my kids then their father passed away forcing me back into the work force accept it was now in the late 90's and everything has changed so I had to take a housekeeping position for a bit until I met my second husband so I did not work for about 5 years but I did go to college and earned a Bachelors Degree in Animation/Graphic Design but I could not find a job in the field because they want experienced people so I went back to housekeeping at Nordstrom's which paid pretty good but then I separated from my husband and ended up quitting because it was too far. Now I work at Ross in the stock room part time only 2 to 3 days a week so I am still looking for full time work. I had applied at a warehouse and they called me for their art department as a layout artist, but I was not selected. So I have experience in the office field but it is hard to get in because my office experience was from the past and they want someone who is currently working in the field and now a days I heard that companies use this software that they put your resume into and it shows where your experience is and mine always comes up in retail because I have worked at stores mostly. So, it is quite difficult these days to get into a company that you can establish yourself in and retire at.
From age 25 up to 51, I really didn't have a problem getting a job. I was living most of that time in So California/Orange County where there were plenty of warehouse, shipping/receiving and stockroom type jobs. For a lot of those years I was single and the highest salary I made was $11 per hour, but back then that wasn't bad. Things were cheaper. I rented a furnished room in a house, drove an older truck and done a lot of my own cooking. I didn't have a college degree, so I had to depend on past experience when looking for a new job. I did go to college, but it didn't last a year. Heck, I had a hard enough time just graduating from high school! Of course, as I grew older, I found out just how much a college degree would have helped me get a job. By the time I took some online classes, I was older and it just wasn't noticed on my resume. I did have one good (very good) thing going for me, when I was introduced into using a computer on the job in 1988, I really liked it! Shoot, on my last job, starting when I was 51, I had my own office/desk/computer/phone and absolutely love it. I already knew enough about Purchasing and Inventory to work in that area as a Materials Coordinator. I was making $13.50 per hour and I felt like I was making $50k a year! I was married again by this time. I truly understand the frustration of "age discrimination", but if you owned a company, who would you employ........a younger person full of energy or someone our age who would be much more of a health risk and possibly slower at learning new things and doing the job? I think businesses have to worry more about how older people/Seniors are on the job than if "so and so" is texting someone, on their computer ordering Christmas gifts or whatever. Us Seniors might be more reliable, but we sure aren't faster!
Well, I hate to say this, but (in black above), this was ME at age 51 until I left (quit) the last company I worked for at 55. My wife was the real "strict" one at work. If a phone call had to be made during a work day, I'd have to make it from my job. Unless absolutely necessary, she made no personal calls from work. There were times in the morning, and it wasn't even "break time" that my 47 yr. old Director/Supervisor and I would check out the latest sports scores on ESPN on our computers. Taking a longer break than 15 minutes, oh for sure! Sometimes I drive down to the local McDonald's and get breakfast for him and I and sometimes the Transportation Supervisor. We got our work done, but it was a very laid-back office area and we liked it that way!
I understand what you're saying. I think it depends entirely on the type of work you're involved in. In my business, we have a timeline for getting everything done in a days time. If we don't accomplish the day's goals, we are in danger of a write-up. What I see on a daily basis is most of the younger people slacking off, because they know that the rest of us will pick up their slack.