Job applicants are widely perceived to become less desirable to employers when they reach their mid-50s, according to new polling from the anti-ageism campaign Age Without Limits.
More than two thirds of the 4,000 people surveyed believe that the average age at which someone stops being seen as a desirable candidate for employers to hire is 55, which is 11 years before state pension age. More than one in three people, 36%, think that job applicants stop being seen as a desirable candidate at 50 or younger, including one in 12, 8%, who believe 40 is the cut-off point.
The age group most likely to hold this view was those aged 45 to 54. Within that group, 41% think that someone stops being seen as a desirable candidate for employers to hire at the age of 50 or younger. The findings may reflect the ageism experienced by this group within the workplace itself.
At the same time, one in ten, 10%, of those polled do not think there is any age at which a person stops being seen as a desirable candidate.
“A Prejudice Against Our Future Selves”
The polling comes as the Centre for Ageing Better launches the third year of its charity campaign, Age Without Limits, which aims to challenge age-based prejudice across society.
This phase of the campaign focuses on what it describes as the absurdity of everyday ageism. It highlights how the continued acceptance of negative attitudes towards ageing can limit opportunities, expectations and confidence as people grow older.
Dr Carole Easton OBE, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said, “In the latest phase of our campaign, we are highlighting the absurdity of ageism. It is a prejudice against our future selves, as we all hope to get older one day. It is in no one’s interests to impose limits and barriers on what we can do as we get older.
“Our survey shows it can also be a prejudice against our current self, with people in their 50s, 60s and beyond assigning themselves age limits to what can and can’t be done in later life – something known as ‘internalised ageism’.”
She added: “Our polling shows how all-encompassing ageism can be with societal judgements around what we can wear, our working lives and how people’s capabilities are perceived based purely on age judgements. Ageism limits work, health, relationships, ambition and confidence—and ultimately whose lives are seen as worth investing in. Ridding society of ageism would have such a transformative impact on so many lives.”
Ageism In The Workplace And Beyond
The average age at which people think someone begins experiencing cognitive decline is 63. That is three years before “early ageing” of the brain occurs and more than 20 years before “late ageing” of the brain occurs. Other studies indicate that overall brain functioning reaches its peak between 55 and 60.
Almost twice the proportion of 45-54-year-olds, 23%, think cognitive decline starts at 50 or younger compared to 55-64-year-olds, 13%. Nearly one in five, 18%, of the population think people struggle to adapt to new technology at 50 or younger. Among 18-24-year-olds this rises to 32%.
Campaign supporter Danielle Barbereau described her own experience. “In my early 50s I experienced significant ageism in my career to such an extent that I was completely frozen out and found it impossible to find a new job. I was left feeling obsolete, desperate to keep providing for my family and scared about what the future would have in store. It is terrible so many people are written off in their 50s but I’m glad I was able to show how absurd it is for some people to think that at my age I had nothing more to offer in the workplace.”
Harriet Bailiss, Co-head of the Age Without Limits Campaign, said, “Getting older has its challenges. Being treated negatively because of your age should never be one of them. Ageism is widespread, and it has the capacity to harm any one of us and those closest to us. That is why we all need to question and challenge it with small, everyday actions to deliver a big, society-changing transformation.”