Ageism in the workplace isn’t an abstract idea, it’s a measurable force shaping careers long before retirement age.
Once upon a time, well maybe about ten years ago, I believed that “age was just a number.” Then I turned 50 and found out that number had started quietly disqualifying me from things I didn’t even know I needed to be worried about. Like learning. Like relevance. Like value.
In some places, simply being over 50 is now treated like a risk factor for being trained. I’m not exaggerating. Victoria Tomlinson, FRSA, a woman I greatly respect (and now follow via LinkedIn), has had senior execs laugh at the idea that someone over 50 might be worth investing in. (You can hear about her work in the link below and follow her “Unretirement” movement.) She sees a future where people might enjoy working, not grinding, for fulfilment well into their 70s, 80s, or even beyond. Not because they have to, but because they can. Or more importantly, because they want to.
But the workplace? The traditional one? It seems to be pushing the eject button earlier and earlier, making careers seem shorter and shorter.
The story, it seems, now reads: Thank you for your decades of service. Here’s a LinkedIn Learning coupon you’ll never use. And could you train your 27-year-old replacement before Friday?
The Rise of Ageism – And the Disappearing Desk
We’re living longer. But careers are getting shorter. Technology’s evolution should be a ladder, but for many older professionals, it feels more like a trapdoor.
Cultural critic Margaret Morganroth Gullette has warned for years that ageism starts far earlier than most people expect, calling it “middle-ageism” and warning that it’s “worse than you think” and “attacking ever younger people.”
Whereas activist and author Ashton Applewhite, best known for This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, is rather more direct: “Discrimination on the basis of age is as unacceptable as discrimination on the basis of any other aspect of ourselves that we cannot change.”
Advocates like Victoria Tomlinson highlight how damaging it is when employers dismiss over-50s as not worth training. Through her Unretirement work, she challenges the lazy assumption that age equals decline, arguing instead that experience should be a springboard for reinvention.
And from a structural perspective, Kathleen E. Christensen’s research with the Sloan Foundation’s Working Longer program showed that employers need to change job design itself, not just policy slogans, if they want to retain and benefit from the loyalty of older workers.
While this may well be individual opinion, the story doesn’t end there. The World Health Organization’s Global Report on Ageism found that discrimination based on age doesn’t just cost careers; it also costs mental health. According to the WHO’s Mental Health of Older Adults Fact Sheet, people exposed to ageism are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Research from the National Library of Medicine confirms that when those stereotypes sink in, we don’t just lose jobs; we lose self-worth, purpose, and identity.
- Margaret Morganroth Gullette, cultural critic and author of Agewise: Fighting the New Ageism in America, warns that ageism is “worse than you think” and is now “attacking ever younger people.”
- Victoria Tomlinson, FRSA, founder of Unretirement, challenges outdated views of older workers and calls for meaningful reskilling opportunities.
- Kathleen E. Christensen, who led the Sloan Foundation’s Working Longer program, highlights how older workers form “a pool of loyal, talented workers” — and how organizations need to design flexible roles to retain them.
- Ashton Applewhite, author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, is one of the loudest and most compelling voices in the fight. Her TED Talk, “Let’s End Ageism,” is worth every second.
- Jacynth Bassett, founder of Ageism Is Never in Style, is shaking up both fashion and corporate culture with her anti-ageism advocacy.
- World Health Organization – Mental Health of Older Adults Fact Sheet, if you want to know more about your growing mental health impact, read here, but it is a deep article and is more biased towards the informed than it should be.
- National Library of Medicine – Ageism and Psychological Well-Being, if you have a medical insight, you might like this article and how the medical profession are looking into this.
- Bradley Richardson speaks directly to the midlife reinvention crowd through his YouTube channel Advanced Adulting.
- And Jubilee’s videos often explore (although they do cover a lot of other contentious areas) age-related topics with real nuance, especially around how tech use and perception shift with age; you'll need to search for it.
Taken en masse, they all make a powerful point: the old narrative of decline doesn’t fit anymore. And that’s exactly why I’m here, not as an expert but as someone who has come to an unusual crossroads in life, where lived experience intersects with digital opportunity, and who just wants to show how age really can be advantageous.
The Grip On Our Society - And How Does The Individual React
These voices, this global institution, show the scale of the problem: cultural bias, personal dismissal, and design flaws in the way the system works seem unavoidable. If you are still reading this, I can clearly see that I’m not alone in feeling ageism has a grip on our society.
The people I’ve just highlighted (and others like them) are proof that ageism is far too real to try and ignore, but I’d also like to highlight that experience can be turned into an advantage. Yes, this is a large topic, and no, I can’t solve it on my own, but you can clearly see how big this problem is becoming, especially if you clicked on any of the links to those who are shaping this conversation.
Follow them if you like, or follow me. I’m simply adding my voice to the discussion. I, however, do feel that there is a way to combat the bigger issue on an individual basis, and so I’m adding a suggestion as to how anyone of a certain age can create a digital income to stop having to worry about how old you are getting.
I don’t want you to think, though, that this article is just about some quick money fix, because it isn’t; it’s a lot more than that, especially when you follow what the WHO are saying.
In my own personal terms, it is more about reclaiming agency. The ability to say, "I’m still here, I still matter, and I can still contribute."
If the office has already shrunk your desk or, sadly, even removed it altogether, the internet, as writing my blog here clearly demonstrates, offers a much bigger working environment, one where experience and curiosity can ensure you aren’t pushed onto the scrap heap way too early purely because of a few numbers on your birth certificate.
The Digital Pivot: Where the Dinosaur Evolves
So here’s where my story picks up.
While the traditional workplace started dimming the lights, I enrolled in what I call the School of Digital Income. (You can read more about that if you follow my blog or visit my website, and don’t worry, no school uniform required.)
What have I learned so far? In the digital world value doesn’t age, it actually helps you convert.
People online don’t care how old you are. They care whether you can solve their problem, entertain them, or offer a perspective they trust. And trust, I’ve realised, is the new marketing.
Consider this:
When it comes down to who people are buying from, 88% are now saying that trust is as important as quality and price. (Source: Edelman Trust Barometer).
The question then is who is building trust, and how are they doing it? First and foremost, those who can build it are those with experience. Those who’ve already made the mistakes. Lived through cycles. Solved problems. Buyers tend to trust those who, shall we say, are a little bit longer in the tooth. Namely you and me.
Thankfully, it seems, trustworthiness comes with age not youthful exuberance.
The AgeIsAdvantageous Mindset
This isn’t just a soapbox moment. It’s a launchpad.
I believe age doesn’t have to be a disadvantage in the digital world; it can be your unfair advantage.
That’s why I’ve created this blog under the banner of AgeIsAdvantageous. Because when the world says, “You're too old for this,” I want to show it we’re actually just getting started.
If you're feeling creatively frustrated, inquisitively minded, and tired of your boss scrutinizing your birth certificate, this blog and what it promotes is definitely for you. Or perhaps you’ve already been quietly shown the door or made to feel like you need to ask permission to learn new things? Well, I’m here to say this:
You are not outdated. You are extremely experienced. And no doubt greatly undervalued and, worse, overlooked. But the great news is that experience is the most valuable commodity on the internet. Follow me to see how experience is the new online economy.
What Comes Next?
As this blog evolves I’ll be digging into the realities of digital income; how to spot the scams, steer clear of the “get rich quick” noise, and focus on what actually works. It’s going to be all about helping you see the difference between a real income opportunity and a digital house of cards.
Until then, if you’ve ever felt like your working life had a sell-by date, remember this:
Dinosaurs are supposedly extinct, but online, we’re learning to roar back.
Stay tuned. Stay focused. And stay sharp.
#paulthedinosaur
Old school grit. New school income.