WE’RE OLD ENOUGH AND, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE’RE GOOD ENOUGH

It was interesting, but also rather annoying, to hear Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, speak out a few days ago with an appeal to older workers to return to the workplace.

 Come back and contribute, he said.

Don’t take early retirement in your fifties and slope off to the golf course, he said.

We need you, he said.

On the face of it, that’s extremely encouraging to those of us who celebrated our 50th birthday a worryingly large number of years ago.

He’s right. You don’t have to be a saint to feel that of course we should put personal preference aside, turn our back on the easy life, put the pension on hold and make a significant contribution to society.

However, allow me to introduce a note of realism to the conversation.

It should go without saying that older workers have plenty to offer. All those years of experience in the corporate world, possibly even in running our own businesses, have left us with an awful lot to contribute.

We have expertise in our chosen fields, we have a range of technical and soft skills to assist in the smooth running of an operation, and the more open-minded of us will be delighted to mentor a younger generation so they can make a more meaningful contribution to the business in question. And you might be surprised by how much energy we can bring to all of these challenges.

Unfortunately, Mr Hunt, that apparently means little to the people deciding who to hire. Because ageism is the last great taboo that you can still indulge with impunity.  

Diversity and inclusion is a hugely positive development of the last few years. It’s great to see so many organisations embracing D&I and ensuring that their hiring teams – and by extension, their workplaces – do not discriminate against potential hires on the basis of metrics such as sex, colour, disability, neuro-divergence or sexual orientation.

Numerous studies have proved that genuinely inclusive workplaces – and leadership teams who embrace diversity as more than a tick-box exercise – perform better and deliver improved results.

But age? Carry right on. Feel free to explain to interviewees that they “aren’t the right cultural fit”, or “would be over-qualified for the role” or “would struggle to communicate with our core demographic”. Or any of the other vague platitudes you can use to fob us off.

Of course, nobody is naïve enough to say to someone: “You’re too old.” But we get what you are saying, we really do know what you mean. After all, many of us have plenty of experience of these situations, often from both sides of the interviewing table.

The fear seems to be that if you appoint a more senior person, you will get few years from them in return. As if every person in their fifties is stalked constantly by the spectre of infirmity. And as if workers of the younger generations are not comfortable with the idea of the portfolio career, where you move on every couple of years to progress in your chosen profession.

Hiring a 25-year-old and expecting them to be around for their gold watch 40 years later is the height of optimism.

Since I raised my bat to the pavilion to celebrate reaching my half-century, there have been a few occasions when I’ve been head-hunted and short-listed for roles for which I, without wishing to sound too big-headed, would have been an ideal fit.

That happens increasingly rarely now, not least because I tend not to bother to respond to initial overtures asking if I’m interested. Apart from anything else, LeBoo Media is going great guns (touch wood, fingers crossed) providing copywriting and communications services to clients in Kingston, London and across the world.

But just the other day, about the same time as Mr Hunt’s heartfelt plea, I was sent an invitation to apply to become Head of Editorial at a football club particularly close to my heart. Not so long ago, I would have rushed in my application, poured my soul into it, and been really excited at the prospect of a job I know I would smash out of the park.

I find it hard to describe how unenthusiastic I was on this occasion. My instant, overpowering reaction was that there was no point applying, because there was absolutely no chance of a 58-year-old being appointed to the role. None at all.

This is based on the experience of several processes when I got a certain distance down the road before being dismissed from consideration for reasons that were remarkably flimsy.

I’m not so arrogant as to think my age was the only reason I didn’t get the positions in question. But I’m not so naïve as to presume it didn’t play a significant part.

So yes, Mr Hunt, older workers should be encouraged back to the workforce. Yes, we have plenty to offer. And yes, I will be 59 in 2023 and have no plans to retire any time soon – I sincerely believe I have many commercially productive years ahead of me, and my many satisfied clients clearly think so too.

But don’t talk to us, Mr Hunt. Talk to narrow-minded and discriminatory recruiters and hiring managers who still think it’s OK to discount out of hand any candidate over the age of 50.

Until that happens, please don’t tell us what to do. Believe it or not, we’re old enough to make up our own minds.