"Ageism in the workplace is very real"...

By Brigette Hyacinth
Author and Keynote Speaker

“He is ‘too old’ for this job.” The HR manager said to me after we interviewed John (not his real name). She continued saying, "he will not fit into our culture." John had been laid off by his previous employer due to restructuring at the age of 53 yrs.

Ageism in the workplace is very real. It is the elephant in the room. I see uproars over every other “ism” (sexism, racism…etc) but everyone turns a blind eye to ageism. It is being swept under the carpet; To the HR manager’s disappointment, I did hire John. John brought a wealth of experience and taught me a lot that I never learned from an MBA.

We live in a youth oriented society. The hype about "out with the old, in with the new" needs to stop. You can't Google experience. A person's age doesn't lessen their ability to work hard or to make a valuable contribution to the organization or society. When someone crosses 50+ doesn't mean they cannot function and should just retire and sit in a corner. Common myths: "They can’t learn. They are not creative. They are not as productive as younger employees. Customers do not respond as well to older workers." These are all based on false premises and assumptions.

Read full article HERE.