It's true that unemployment is higher among younger than older adults. But there's a trend among the latter that's especially disturbing. When unemployed, they stay there much longer. Approximately three quarters of mature-age job seekers are on income support for more than a year.
A study led by the University of Melbourne, due to be published next week, goes some way in explaining why that's the case, at least from the perspective of those who feel employers are discriminating against them. In a series of interviews based in Sydney, the Gold Coast and Melbourne, three ageism themes emerged.
The first is what the researchers refer to as "rusty". This is the perception that recruiters view older workers as slow and unfit, a combination that leads many to believe they're at risk of injury. This was particularly a point of view held by those who were once employed in blue-collar industries.
One unemployed older worker referred to "aches and pains" and "joints [that] aren't the best" as reasons why future bosses might think twice. Quite a few made reference to their skills, which had been made obsolete by technological advances. And then there were those who did retrain in a different field but had their job applications knocked back because employers "don't want older people ... they want young, youthful people, good-looking people."
That last comment also applies to the second theme, known as "invisible". It's linked to the tendency for young employees, by virtue of a seemingly vigorous appearance, to be eye-catching. One of the interviewees reminisced about times gone by when she was in her 20s and 30s, a time when how she looked was valued as much as her work experience and qualifications. But later in life, she says, "a woman becomes invisible … because we're not as attractive, physically."
Another spoke about the interview experience. Typically, on arrival, you see the manager's "face drop when you walk in the room." Another adds: "They take one look at my grey hair, and just completely dismiss you."
So these unemployed older workers often try to disguise their age with hair dye, expensive accessories, stylish clothes, make-up – all of which are clearly tactics used mostly by older women rather than men, and not just because it's socially acceptable for them to do so but predominantly because appearance-related ageism tends to be harshest among the female gender.
The third theme is labelled "threatening". It has little to do with looking old but a lot to do with simply being old. The participants in the study felt they were discriminated against because of flawed perceptions that mature-age employees resist change, challenge authority, and are less adaptable.
There were a variety of ways this became manifest in the study. For example, younger managers were seen as feeling threatened by older workers who "might know more than they do and show them up for being perhaps incompetent". Another example is that uni graduates are seen as more pliable: "a fresh, clean slate in their mind so they'll ... [be] more likely to follow company policies."
When reflecting on the comments above, it's hard to distinguish between perception and reality. For instance, how does one know for sure it's a glance at a grey hair or the suspected insecurity of a youthful boss that determines the lack of job-seeking success? How do we know it isn't a badly worded CV or one that hasn't had any training added to it in decades?
In any case, it's probably not that relevant. The data speaks for itself. And what it's unambiguously saying is that if you find yourself suddenly out of the workforce later in life, it's very, very difficult to squeeze back in.
James Adonis is the author of How To Be Great. Follow MySmallBusiness on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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