Disappearing Dinosaurs: A Discussion of Ageism

"You are obsolete." Anyone of a certain age is bound to remember the Twilight Zone episode in which Burgess Meredith was confronted with that harsh (and arbitrary) determination. It seems to confront more and more of us these days. Ageism in America is alive and well, my friends. 

Ageism and Global Warming have a lot in common. Though generally recognized as existing, no one believes they actually do. Since it's been below zero for a solid week here in the Northeast, I'll leave the global warming debate to others, but Ageism is real. How can I say that with any conviction? I'm living proof. After age 50, your employment worth is next to nil. Stay with me as I explain.

Many workers fortunate to have succeeded in a career are the victims of their own success. More so than ever before, companies have discovered that they can shed the experienced (read 50 year old) worker earning at the higher end of the pay scale and replace him with 2 or 3 younger, inexperienced workers and pay less in total compensation. It's a trade-off too many employers are willing to make to enhance the bottom line. Wondering why wage growth has been stagnant despite a supposed robust economy with low unemployment and low inflation? Corporate America has figured out that if they shed the full-time, higher compensated, experienced workers and replace them with 2 or 3 part-time, under-compensated workers they save a bundle not just in payroll but all the benefit-associated costs as well. That dynamic isn't about to change despite the recently passed tax reform that is hyped as a job creator. Corporations like profits. The tax reforms will simply be a windfall to the bottom line. 

Naysayers (mostly employers) will claim ageism doesn't really exist. Yet it's the 50 year old worker bearing the brunt of corporate cost cutting measures. The odd thing is that these employees are also typically the best contributors. But the trade-off on that hasn't negatively impacted the bottom line so it persists. 

The press continues to spread the news that the aging boomer population has created an employment shortage. Interesting. That sounds like there aren't enough workers, right? Yet wage growth remains stagnant? Something's awry. Forget the demographics - companies need less workers! Automation is rapidly expediting the demise of the human workforce. Expect that to accelerate in coming years with the advent of AI and robotics, offsetting the demographic component altogether.

Back to us old folks. Typically, we're educated and have tangible skills. Our work ethic alone should be something of an asset in securing work. But it's a Catch-22. The model is to hire young, inexperienced workers on the cheap. So older workers are consistently viewed as costing too much or being overqualified. 

I'll use myself as an example. I'm approaching 54. I spent my career being a top contributor for one company. My skills are solid. Out of the blue, I was let go. No fanfare. Thanks, but don't come in tomorrow. In an instant, I was suddenly Burgess Meredith. 

I'm resilient and I knew I had talent so I wasn't worried. I never believed in ageism. That was an excuse older workers who were under-performing used to explain being let go. I discovered how wrong I was when I hit the unemployment line for the first time in my life. My experience would now prove to be a hindrance. I was stunned. That was a year and a half ago. 

I've been fortunate. My work ethic apparently shows through so I've had success landing some blue-collar work. Hard, physically demanding work totally outside what would be considered in my wheelhouse. Work that at my age I ought to avoid. So now I work 1000 times harder, for twice as long, to earn less than half of what I earned previously. Nevertheless, it's what's available to me so I do it. Some my age don't even get that opportunity. 

Dinosaurs disappear. I suppose I'll have to evolve because I refuse to accept that I'm obsolete. If you've seen the Twilight Zone episode, you know that Burgess Meredith refused to go quietly too. Wish me luck, or better yet, hire me...but don't count me out.

The Dinosaur Age

Online, appearances can be deceiving.  For example, I'm not new.  In fact, I'm old.  Older than younger.  More than halfway to dead.  Someone recently referred to me as a Renaissance Man.  The Renaissance happened ages ago so I think they were really just cleverly calling me an Old Man.

I should've seen it coming years ago when technologies overlapped and I was in line to purchase some last vinyl records at the record store, when the kid behind me in line asked, "What are those?" I replied, "Records." To which he said in all seriousness, "So...what...you listen to them once and then throw them away?"

One thing I'm certainly not is new.  I'm pre-PC. I'm pre-digital.  I'm pre-cable TV.  I'm Mr. Analog.  I grew up listening to transistor AM radio, watching 3 channels of black & white TV, talking on a rotary phone tethered to the kitchen wall, and playing vinyl records.  45's, 78's, and 33 1/3's.  I'm far from new.  I am a dinosaur.  But don't expect my extinction anytime soon.  I have adapted.  And I have a context that new people don't.  Dinosaurs once ruled the world.  Perhaps they might again.

I seamlessly listen to mp3's on my iPod, or to cassettes, CD's, and even vinyl LP's.  I play the original Coleco Vision, Atari, and Nintendo game systems I grew up with but can hold my own in any computer generated medieval bloodfest.  I type on a manual Royal typewriter.  That means ribbons, white out that isn't a liquid, and a return that is an actual handle.

While a relative newcomer to social media, I'm battle-hardened from my experiences in various forums, but even more so by in-the-trenches interaction of actual human contact.  All of which pre-date social media like FB or Twitter.  It's somewhat amusing to me to be "advised" or even outright threatened on these new virtual outlets.  It astounds me what people will do or say electronically that they wouldn't dare dream of in-person.  That is not a recipe for survival.  I wonder how long until the evolutionary cycle of social media relegates it to the rotary phone scrap heap and where all the self-important experts with no context will wind up?  At the lightning speed technology advances, the answer may turn up before the end of this post!

No, I'll never quite be new again.  I'm weathered.  I'm seasoned.  I've been through the fire.  Heck, apparently I've been through the Renaissance!  Yes, I am in fact, a dinosaur.  Once a flesh-eating T-Rex, but now just a lumbering, plant-eating Brontosauras.  But have you ever seen the swath a Bronto cuts?  Old just might become the new new.

Serenity Now

Meditation is a simple, fast way to reduce stress.  If there was ever someone who needed stress reduction, it's me.  I was a bit reluctant to attend the Adult Ed workshop on my own, but the course description sounded appealing so I decided to give it a try.  If nothing else, it was an opportunity to escape other demands for 2 hours per week.

I expected something mystical but it really just boiled down to various breathing techniques.  It was a little awkward at first sitting around in half-darkness with a few strange women practicing breathing while listening to soft, new age music, but it turned out to actually be very relaxing.  The basic stuff was pretty easy to master, though the real benefit for me was lending structure to some things I was already doing on my own to relieve stress.  I wound up sleeping more soundly too on the nights I had class, and awakened feeling more refreshed.

If you've never tried Meditation before, I'd highly recommend giving it a try.  It's easy, takes as little or as much time as you're willing to devote, can essentially be done anywhere, and yields surprising results.

Here's a useful link on meditation benefits - Click here

I'm looking forward to my next experiment - Reiki.

Monkey Prerogative

I thought I'd start slowly today and attempt to describe what you might expect from this blog.  Honestly, I'm not entirely sure yet.  I'm just one monkey.  In the jungle, one monkey or what he thinks doesn't count for all that much.  But if he manages to not get eaten by a lion, then he gets to keep on thinking, or in my case, writing.

For the most part, I'll aim to keep my opinions monkey-like.  In other words, I'll try to tackle complicated situations with ease, display sparkling wit, and hold on to the branches tightly, all while swinging from tree to tree in the range of topics I cover.  I hope I don't get too serious but I'm very much a serious monkey so I can't make any promises.  Monkeys are unpredictable.  In that vein, the predictability of posting will not likely follow any specific schedule.  I can't be swinging through the trees constantly because even a monkey needs to relax and eat a banana from time to time.  So I'm hopeful that I'll have some Guest Monkeys who'd occasionally like to swing by and share their experiences in the jungle.

Got a topic you'd like to see me explore?  Shoot me an email with your suggestion.  It's time for a banana now and if the lions don't get me, I'll be back to share some more thoughts soon.