The persistence of age discrimination in shaping late working lives

Written by Dr Rachel Crossdale

Age discrimination is one of several issues tackled in the internationally comparative Exclusion and Inequality in Late Working Life (EIWO) project funded by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare. When reading through transcripts of in-depth interviews with older workers collected in the UK as part of the broader project, it was apparent that references to ageist language were scattered throughout the data. These referred not only to participants’ status within the labour market but also their abilities and their future health. We found that, despite the UK policy context favouring extended working lives, age discrimination persists in the labour market, influences decision-making about work and retirement, and is not only structural but internalised in older workers’ perceptions of themselves and other older workers.

Retirement and ageism in the UK 

With the ageing population, the need for older workers is becoming more prominent in the UK economy. However, for decades we have been led to believe that we deserve retirement as a reward for a long working life. Despite numerous carrot and stick initiatives including the removal of early retirement packages, the abolition of default retirement age, and increases in the State Pension Age (see also the Unequal Extended Working Lives policy brief), it is proving difficult to undo the culturally embedded idea of retirement at a fixed age. If policy makers want to encourage older people to choose work over retirement (where there is a choice to be made and, in the interests of social justice, such choices are to be freely made), the labour market needs to be free from age discrimination in both its systems and its actors.

Our research used data from 25 in-depth interviews with older workers (aged 55 and over) on turning points and coping strategies throughout working life  to evaluate the role of age discrimination in late working life decision-making. The findings indicated two interrelated themes: structural ageism and internalised ageism. 

Structural ageism

Structural ageism refers to ‘explicit or implicit policies, practices, or procedures of societal institutions that discriminate against older persons’ (Chang et al 2020: n.p.). Our findings suggest that older workers are being discriminated against by structural factors that are not directly exclusionary but have that effect because they are targeted to younger workers, such as the prominence of digital technology in many workplaces. Thus, age discrimination is not necessarily direct but can take the form of systemic ageism connected to working conditions that are more likely to be associated with or experienced by older workers. 

The persistence of a retirement fantasy provides further support for structural ageism. Despite the changing policy context around retirement, older workers interviewed in our project continued to position retirement as a distinct stage of life, earned by those who have ‘paid their dues’; a time for lavish leisure and personal interest regardless of current lifestyle.

Internalised ageism

Internalised ageism is ageism directed towards oneself as well as biases held towards other adults of the same age. Our findings showed that older workers’ internalised expectations of themselves, their abilities, and their futures were visible through a sense of impending health decline, sometimes described as health pessimism. Regardless of health status or history, older workers felt the need to ‘enjoy’ retirement in good health before the proverbial window closed. Older workers also had the perception that their ageing profile was no longer suitable for their current employment, and that they were ‘holding up’ younger generations.

Interconnectedness

These two factors are not dichotomous but interrelated. While age discrimination encompasses both structural and internalised ageism, the two interact. Structural factors such as the availability of social interactions and digital literacy, help to frame older workers’ perceptions of themselves. For example, older workers can be excluded from certain digital content such as marketing adverts, job adverts, or credit offers and this digital discrimination then influences individual perceptions of what is ‘for them’ or ‘not for them’. Similarly, how older workers perceive themselves has an impact on their interaction with structural factors, with older workers excluding themselves from certain activities because of their age.

What does this mean?

Despite being on the policy radar since the 1990’s, age discrimination continues to influence decision-making in late working life. Current anti-age discrimination policies do not go far enough to challenge the structural and internalised factors revealed by our research. The current labour market needs to adapt to the ageing population through a better integration of older workers, which is achievable through national- and employer-level initiatives to tackle the structural and internalised ageism currently acting as a barrier to extended working lives. 

In this context, it should also be acknowledged that extended working lives is not a universally applicable concept. For many the choice between continuing working or retiring at pension age is predetermined by health, caring responsibilities, or finances. There are also other factors that play a part including working conditions and pension schemes/benefits.

This research was done in collaboration with Professor Alan Walker and Professor Liam Foster from The University of Sheffield. This research is one part of the EIWO project. Publications from the project can be found here.