Older workers consider Botox and plastic surgery to counter workplace ageism

More than one in ten people (15%) aged 45 and above would consider getting plastic surgery to look younger if it helped them to get a job or a promotion, our new research reveals. 

One in five (20%) people aged 45 and above would consider Botox or fillers and two in five people (41%) in the age group would consider dyeing their hair to look younger if it helped them to get a job or a promotion, according to our new survey.

Dr Carole Easton OBE, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better which runs the Age Without Limits campaign, said it was "dispiriting but understandable” that people were taking drastic action to look younger given that age and experience so often counted against employees and job applicants.

The latest Labour Market stats show that people aged 35 to 49 are 20% more likely to be employed than those aged 50 to 64.

Evidence also shows that the chances of being offered training at work or finding a job after being made unemployed recede significantly once individuals reach 50, while one in three older workers feel at a disadvantage when applying for jobs due to their age.

The new polling shows that one in six people (16%) aged 45 and above have been on the receiving end of inappropriate comments about their age from fellow employees, including colleagues and managers. Of these, two in five (39%) say that this has occurred on a frequent basis.

Inappropriate age-based comments are more likely to come from colleagues rather than managers, according to the survey.

Receiving negative comments related to age in the workplace has led one in six people (15%) aged 45 and above to doubt their own abilities or value to an employer.

Rose-Marie, who recently left a role after facing ageist comments, said: “I was monitored and singled-out on several occasions, told to style my hair in a different way because it ‘looked better’, told to ‘stand in the corner and look pretty’.

“The environment was unfavourable for older people, not just among colleagues but also at a management level. There was little done to educate people on a corporate level about ageism and supporting older workers.”

Dr Carole Easton OBE, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “It is so dispiriting to see the drastic steps that older workers are forced to consider in order to get a level playing field in the workplace. But it is also understandable people are taking drastic action given that age and experience is so often viewed negatively and held against employees and job applicants.

“Many people assume that in this day and age we have the legislation and the HR policies that put an end to ageism in the workplace. But the data, and the experiences we hear from people, tell a different story.

“We’ve heard from jobseekers who are inexplicably passed over for hundreds of job applications despite extensive skills and experience and who say they can feel prospective employers go cold on them the moment they realise their age.

“The persistent and unfounded stereotypes around older workers are consigning too many people to the employment scrapheap with a third of their working lives still to go. The reality is older workers are an asset and help an organisation to be more productive and innovative. We need an age-friendly employment revolution to ensure that every employer in the country recognises that reality.”

Age Without Limits hopes everybody can play a role in making workplaces where employees of all ages can thrive.

Beyond the institutional and policy steps that employers can take in tackling ageism in the workplace, the campaign is asking employees to consider how colleagues of different age groups interact in their own places of work and explore ways to create a more age-friendly workplace.

We are asking everyone to challenge ageism in their places of work by taking a range of potential actions including:

• Ensure that work-based events are inclusive for all ages
• Challenge ageism in their workplace such as lack of representation and ageist banter
• Break down intergenerational barriers at work by engaging with colleagues of all ages to maximise the productivity and innovation boosts that come from a multigenerational workplace
• Asking employers to sign up to the Age-friendly Employer Pledge - a nationwide programme run by the Centre for Ageing Better for UK employers who recognise the importance and value of older workers.

Harriet Bailiss, Co-head of the Age Without Limits campaign, said: “We don’t always get the opportunities we need and deserve as we age. The data clearly shows older applicants are less likely to be hired and less likely to receive training than other age groups. The prevalence of negative treatment just because of age, of ageism, is clear.

“Ageism in the workplace can take many forms; from ill-considered humour, omission from opportunity, underestimation of skills and abilities. And quite often the causing of offence or the prejudicial treatment is accidental and unintended.

“But the impact is far from trivial and the repercussions can be very damaging with the potential to drive the recipient out of employment.

“What might be surprising to some is that the impact of ageism in the workplace is being felt by people in their 40s, and at times perceived by people of that age as more pervasive and prominent than it is for older age groups.

“People have told our campaign how they were flourishing in their careers until they weren’t, and the only change was their age and what that signified to employers. We cannot continue wasting the talent of older workers in this country.”

Find out how you can challenge ageism in the workplace here.