Age Discrimination? 10 Warning Signs Your Job is at Risk

Once you hit 50 and your salary is higher than most others at your level, what appears to be ageism often rears its ugly head.  It is gradual but slowly you find that you are no longer the star you once were.  It starts with subtle signs but gets more obvious with added birthdays.  Eventually it becomes unbearable.  You are definitely not happy at work.  It is best to identify the signs early and then make plans to exit gracefully.  Here is a list of signs that you are in jeopardy.

1. Projects you have worked on or led have been given to others. It may have seemed like a logical change at the time but your new work is less stimulating and does not play to your strengths.  You do not feel challenged or that you are learning anything new.
2. You look around the office and most workers are half your age and the new hires are all young too. The people you originally worked with have retired, quit or left for new companies.
3. The few colleagues that you are close to are all unhappy. They see management making mistake after mistake.  There is a lot of complaining that you hear and maybe even participate in.  Everyone seems angry.
4. Your manager tells you to just do your job and not worry about management. This is hard to do because you don’t like the job and someone from management seems to always be evaluating you negatively.
5. In the past you have been evaluated as doing really great work. The projects you have worked on have been successful and you were acknowledged for your success.  Now your evaluations are less than stellar and people often criticize your work.
6. You have the strong feeling that someone is documenting your “failures” even though you feel the work you do is still excellent. When you defend your work, they accuse you of “whining”.
7. Your budget is cut so that when you want to go to a conference or buy something above a certain threshold you must get approval from your manager. With a bigger budget you could go to conferences, take classes and buy the equipment you needed without permission.  Now you can’t do as much of that and it makes you feel that you are not valued by the organization.
8. Because of the criticism of your work and the lack of budget, you are beginning to feel less capable. The environment is affecting your confidence in yourself.
9. You see the values of the company have changed and you no longer share their values. It makes you very unhappy when you must do something that feels wrong to you.
10. You’ve noticed a pattern of employees leaving for new jobs or to pursue other interests. It happens frequently and although you don’t know these people when it is announced the notice either says where they are going or that they are pursuing new opportunities. Word from the grapevine is that “pursuing new opportunities” means the person is looking for another job. You are not sure if they left voluntarily or were fired.

Coaching Offer
If you can identify with any or all of these warning signs, it is time to take action.  As your coach I will help you to make and implement an action plan.  Perhaps you believe things will change if you just wait it out.  They may but that means you will be unhappy until things change.  Take charge of your life and your happiness.  If you want to find a way to leave your toxic environment, call me at 781-598-0388 or email me at asparker@asparker.com.