With 9 in 10 workers 50+ experiencing age discrimination, employers face another crisis
The workplace age divide has reached a critical point, with 9 in 10 workers 50+ experiencing age discrimination.
A survey of 878 workers 50+ in the U.S. by the resume writing platform Resume Now reveals a stark contradiction: while 97% of older employees believe their institutional knowledge is valued by employers, the day-to-day reality tells a story of exclusion, disrespect and systematic bias that could be exposing bosses to significant legal and operational risks.
Keith Spencer, Resume Now’s career expert, emphasizes the broad organizational impact. “Employers who fail to recognize the value of older employees risk losing not just knowledge, but the kind of steady leadership that keeps workplaces grounded,” he says.
As an employment lawyer, Kelsey Szamet, partner in the employment law firm Kingsley Szamet, often represent individuals suffering from age discrimination.
“Workers over 50 often find themselves facing wage gaps compared with their younger contemporaries working in the same job description, passed over on promotion opportunities or challenging tasks, or coerced into early retirement,” she says. “In many cases, these workers have long and honored career backgrounds, but end up being benched as new batches of labor come into the scene.”
The responses can be very different when an employee brings a complaint of age discrimination to management or human resources. Unfortunately, all too often, the complaint is ignored, and the complainant is accused of “not being a team player,” or they may face more subtle retaliation later on.
Despite rising awareness, Szamet says she sees no quick change in workplace attitudes toward age. “Ageism remains one of the most pervasively accepted types of occupational discrimination, requiring both cultural and legal activism to create significant policy changes,” she observes.
The Resume Now data confirms that age discrimination isn’t just about obvious violations like forced retirement or exclusion from hiring. It’s manifesting in subtler but equally damaging ways, among them:
Compensation inequity. More than half of older workers report earning less than younger colleagues performing identical roles, a potential equal pay violation that could trigger litigation.
Career stagnation. Nearly one-quarter have been excluded from challenging assignments, while 15% report being passed over for promotions despite superior qualifications.
Daily microaggressions. Two in 5 older workers endure age-related bias in the form of belittling remarks or assumptions about their skills, particularly where technology is concerned, creating a hostile work environment that could violate anti-discrimination laws.
Exclusion from operations. Nearly 1 in 5 report being deliberately excluded from meetings or company activities, undermining team effectiveness and employee engagement.
Perhaps most concerning for HR leaders is the revelation of significant intergenerational friction. While 90% of older workers describe relationships with younger colleagues as generally positive, a deeper examination reveals a more troubling dynamic, with 83% reporting feeling disrespected by younger coworkers at least occasionally, 47% saying it occurs frequently and 42% describing relationships as “generally good but sometimes tense.”
That tension isn’t just affecting individual employees — it’s creating a workplace culture that systematically undervalues experience while potentially violating Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protections.
The financial stakes are significant. Reporting of age-based complaints by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is on the rise. Meanwhile, organizations risk losing critical institutional knowledge as experienced workers face pressure to retire early or seek opportunities elsewhere.
Resume Now found that 12% of older workers report being pressured to retire or specifically targeted during layoffs — practices that could constitute illegal age discrimination if not based on legitimate business needs and applied consistently across age groups.
Among immediate solutions for people managers:
Audit current practices. According to experts, HR management should review compensation data to identify age-based pay disparities, examine promotion patterns and assignment distributions across age groups, and document decision-making processes to ensure age-neutral criteria.
Execute leadership training. Implement mandatory training for managers on age bias recognition and legal compliance, and address both overt discrimination and subtle microaggressions that create hostile environments.
Review policy. Update anti-discrimination policies to explicitly address age bias and establish clear reporting mechanisms to ensure consistent enforcement across all levels.
Beyond legal compliance, addressing age discrimination delivers measurable business value, according to the survey, which found that 81% of older workers view their age as a workplace advantage, while 91% describe their work as meaningful and fulfilling.
As the study determines, employers able to harness that engagement while heading off discriminatory practices have a leg up — heading off yet one more current crisis for HR departments.