Age discrimination in the workforce

PunkKitty

PunkKitty

Horny bag of electric meat
This article crossed my FB feed this morning. I was laid off from IBM in 2009 in my mid 40's. I'm one of those that never recovered from the layoff. To say that I am still bitter and angry about it doesn't come close to the rage that I really feel. Age discrimination is alive and well. Added to that, I had to deal with anti trans discrimination. It all really fucked with my head.

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2018/03/ibm-propublica-gray-hairs-old-heads/
 
It started with a 20% salary cut. "But don't worry, you will get paid overtime." Overtime had to be pre approved. That approval was NEVER given. It ended with being forced to sign a release approving mandatory arbitration and saying that I would not take any legal action in exchange for a severance check.
 
Yeah.....too true.

I did in fact get a job offer recently (which I turned down), but if you are mid-40s or older in the tech industry then jobs get harder to get. For interviews I shave off my goatee (too much grey) and in the future I'll likely color my hair (grey finally getting noticeable at 57). I'm fortunate in that minus the grey I can easily pass for someone 10 - 15 years younger. I want a job closer to home, but given I'm picky who I work for that may take a long time for the right company to actually want to hire an old dude.

Given that I'll likely have to work at least until I'm at least 70 (adequate retirement savings while working at a non-profit?? Yeah - not happening), a stable job is of supreme importance in the tech industry at my age.
 
I was a young buck when I was laid off after a corporate takeover. The research dept I worked in was heavily slanted to the old crowd. It was full of people who were never going to retire. I was a top performer and never had a bad word in my reviews. I think I and the only other person who was in their 20's were laid off because we helped drop the average age of the layoffs in our area.

I can't prove it but I'm sure my age was factored in.

I wasn't fully happy in my role and they doubled my severence package, added years to my pension if I promised not to sue them in court. I signed the papers and left. It took a little while but it worked out for the best. I got a higher paying, more rewarding job and had money left over to pay off debts.

Reverse age descrimination helped me, though it was hard to see at the time.
 
I'm probably facing this in the near future. I am six months from eligibility for retirement, and I was told yesterday that my job would probably end up being reassigned to another part of the organization at 'some point in the future'.
 
I have been very fortunate so far that I have never been laid off in my career, but I have been through many of them. Now that I am facing another one it's kinda scary because I'm now in my mid 40's. I do look young for my age (I hope), but I hate the prospect of having to look for another job.
 
It's definitely a real thing. Kind of hard to hide your age while providing an accurate resume.

The average age at the company I work for now is 30. I typically pass for 10 years younger than I am, but I'm still the old grumpy white dude.
 
For what it's worth, I've actually had an issue working with certain adults (mostly males in their late-40's) because they don't like having a guitar teacher younger than them, period. It's probably more of a male-ego trip than an actual issue with my age, but it seems to happen with the occasional parent of a student too. At 35 it's not the issue it was at 25.
 
I'm in the looked-over age group. I removed the school dates from my resume and do not include the first 15 years of my work history, but maybe I need to trim that down as well.

I'm sure I don't look as old as I am (54), but you'll never see me dying my hair!

40065826965_3b219dc470_n.jpg
 
I at least get interviews; that is the advantage of graduating college at 46. People are a bit shocked when I walk in. Thankfully I have never really had to deal with age discrimination in my field. I have a new job interview coming up, they've met me and can't wait to get me on the job part-time. Sadly, that is not true for many fields.
 
Tig said:
I'm in the looked-over age group. I removed the school dates from my resume and do not include the first 15 years of my work history, but maybe I need to trim that down as well.

I'm sure I don't look as old as I am (54), but you'll never see me dying my hair!

40065826965_3b219dc470_n.jpg
Click to expand...

Ha, I do the same thing (trim the resume history).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tig
I got laid off in September of last year. Yeah, it sucked. Just what I needed (NOT) at the time. That's what happens when you get into your upper 40's are making $110K+ a year in IT.

You get replaced by someone younger who costs less. I get it.

Just finished a gig making $125/hour on a full time contract job (for several months).

You have to be willing to take chances, get yourself out there, and always be willing to prove yourself.

For me, I will make either the same amount or more and have about 3 months more off a year, so....you know....it can be done.

Life is what you make of it.
The Lord will provide.

Get out there, @PunkKitty , and get it done! You can do it. Don't let people bring you down, man. Go get 'em, Tiger. Every day is an opportunity to get ahead, or fall behind. Money won't make you happy. I think everyone on here wants you to be happy. Don't let what happened to you in the past fuck with you. You deserve better, and you deserve to treat yourself better. The right opportunity hasn't come your way yet, that's OK.....tomorrow's a new day.
 
Last edited:
PunkKitty said:
It started with a 20% salary cut. "But don't worry, you will get paid overtime." Overtime had to be pre approved. That approval was NEVER given. It ended with being forced to sign a release approving mandatory arbitration and saying that I would not take any legal action in exchange for a severance check.
Click to expand...

I don't know if it's true in every state, but in Cali that kind of agreement that you're forced to sign in order to get a check is not legally binding.
 
Denverdave said:
Yeah.....too true.

I did in fact get a job offer recently (which I turned down), but if you are mid-40s or older in the tech industry then jobs get harder to get. For interviews I shave off my goatee (too much grey) and in the future I'll likely color my hair (grey finally getting noticeable at 57). I'm fortunate in that minus the grey I can easily pass for someone 10 - 15 years younger. I want a job closer to home, but given I'm picky who I work for that may take a long time for the right company to actually want to hire an old dude.

Given that I'll likely have to work at least until I'm at least 70 (adequate retirement savings while working at a non-profit?? Yeah - not happening), a stable job is of supreme importance in the tech industry at my age.
Click to expand...

Dave, you may want to look for IT jobs in the public school system. I worked in one, and my dad was s school administrator for years. They seem to prefer older people for the IT positions. It’s also a good fit because they usually don’t have a lot of money to be cutting edge technology wise, so you don’t have to worry about the tech passing you by.
 
The tech industry seems to be particularly guilty of age discrimination. My dad was laid off multiple times (network engineer) and eventually left the industry entirely. Humanity is rarely a factor at big corporations and publicly traded companies.
 
Tig said:
I'm in the looked-over age group. I removed the school dates from my resume and do not include the first 15 years of my work history, but maybe I need to trim that down as well.

I'm sure I don't look as old as I am (54), but you'll never see me dying my hair!

40065826965_3b219dc470_n.jpg
Click to expand...


That’s a great point. Sanitize your resume so that it presents your skills and experience without highlighting your age is pretty key...especially in the tech field. I’ve seen resumes get chucked in the trash because screeners could make assumptions about a persons age, sex or race by clues on the resume and completely ignore how the person could otherwise be a suitible candidate.
 
PunkKitty said:
This article crossed my FB feed this morning. I was laid off from IBM in 2009 in my mid 40's. I'm one of those that never recovered from the layoff. To say that I am still bitter and angry about it doesn't come close to the rage that I really feel. Age discrimination is alive and well. Added to that, I had to deal with anti trans discrimination. It all really fucked with my head.

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2018/03/ibm-propublica-gray-hairs-old-heads/
Click to expand...
A good friend of mine works for IBM. They're a pretty shitty company when it comes to taking care of their employees. Their model is to continually lay off 10% of their workforce and replace them with new hires. The theory being that they're always getting rid of poor performers and replacing them with fresh, young talent. But those of us that have been around a while know that isn't how it really works. He says they're finally starting to come around and revisit some of those policies, but it's not happening very fast.

I'm a geezer now and know that I'd have a very tough time finding a new job if I were to get laid off. Not many companies want to hire folks in their 50's, unless they're executive management/CEO types.

Mojo, and good luck with keeping your head clear. :thu:
 
Good luck punkitty.

And for what its worth I think you posted a pic here before. You didnt look in your 40's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top