Are we ready for workers not to retire?
I have this friend who is in her early 60s. I met her through my first big journalism job a couple decades ago, and she’s always been a mentor to me because she’s an engine of good ideas—and she’s generous with them. Last fall, she got to feeling pretty lousy in her job.
She worked in media, and she had a fine gig. It paid enough, and the work was okay. But my friend had just reached this new moment in her life. Her youngest child had gone to college. Her partner had passed away a few years earlier. She found herself unencumbered. She had newfound time, and she didn’t want justa job. She didn’t want to coast. She wanted to create things that mattered, to make connections, to make more money. She was professionally ambitious!
When she raised this with her boss, the response was disappointing: just chill out, he told her. Why do you want to work so hard now?
That’s a form of ageism —an ism that is at the heart of today’s episode.
Ageism is tricky. The older we get, the more we encounter moments where we begin to wonder: how does the perception of our age impact us at work? Often it’s not something we can know for sure, more of a suspicion that shadows us. So what can we do about it?
Today’s guest is Kerry Hannon. Kerry offers optimism and energy for any of us who aspire to position ourselves for great opportunities in our 50s and 60s. She’s a senior columnist with Yahoo Finance, and a longtime personal finance reporter. Her most recent book is “In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in The New World of Work.”
Kerry’s work focuses on how to help everyone get more from a career. She’s got thoughts for people who are searching for jobs and striking out. She has encouraging words for people who feel they’ve been overlooked. And she has the personal experience to illustrate her points. You can listen here,
Transcripts available upon request
