2 Common Work Questions That Are Secretly Ageism In Disguise

Ageism is prejudice based on age. If you work long enough, you’ll overhear it from colleagues who share these views openly ― because it is still seen as acceptable to judge people based on how old they are.

“Ageism is such an invisible force within society. And it’s one that we have literally been taught since we were young,” said Tracey Gendron, director for the Virginia Center on Aging and the author of the book “Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It.”

She cites examples ranging from children’s literature with old witches and beautiful young princesses to a thriving anti-aging business making money off of making people look younger. Once we internalize ageism, “we become afraid of our own aging, we disassociate with our own aging, and we only see aging as a process of decline,” Gendron said.

Even if aging does not directly affect you now, it will later. How you think about aging can literally add years to your life. In one 2002 longevity study, researchers followed over 600 Ohio residents older than age 50 for two decades. The older people who had positive beliefs about aging lived seven and a half years longer than those who did not.

That’s why it’s important to stop putting limits on people’s capabilities just because of their age. Here are two of the most ageist comments you’ll hear at the office:

“When do you plan to retire?”

Beyond being ageist, this kind of question also carries classist implications.

The retirement question has “assumptions that all older people can afford to, that they want to, that the dream is to retire. And none of those things may be true,” Gendron said.

“People get a lot of purpose out of working. And, you know, some people are like, ‘I’m just starting, when I’m 60 or