My Story: Part 3 of 3
Workplace age discrimination can be subtle. Hard to recognize. But trust me, it is very much alive. It’s taken six months to write this article. Hopefully dear reader, this personal example of age discrimination in the workplace is conveyed void of the emotional baggage I have carried.
In early 2022, I was interviewing for other management positions, seeking a salary increase that had eluded me. During that time, I had a one-on-one meeting with Karen, my new Assistant Vice President. Karen was warm and easy to talk to, making me feel heard and safe.
That feeling of safety led me to bring up my concerns about ageism within our parent organization. I tried to convey it wasn’t just about one incident or one team. Ageism seemed to be more widespread. (Please see article linked below referencing a specific incident). Karen listened attentively and showed genuine concern.
To my delight, Karen offered me a promotion on one of her other teams. She emphasized my value and assured me that I would thrive in the new position. Karen even acknowledged that I had previously been ‘inadvertently’ passed over. A younger, less experienced internal transfer came onto my team at a higher rate of pay. To sweeten the deal, Karen offered a starting salary that exceeded my expectations. Without hesitation, I accepted her generous offer.
HR Got Involved
Karen later called to say she was compelled to formally report my perception of ageism. As a result, everyone on my small team would be interviewed. I was upset because I made it clear it wasn’t about my supervisor, Donna, or my teammates. Donna was actually one of the best managers I’ve ever had. I made it clear that it was about a broader perceived issue within the organization’s culture.
However, HR interviewed my team and concluded that I was the only one who perceived ageism, even after reviewing verbatims from call notes. Of course, my teammates didn’t see an issue. That WAS the issue. It wasn’t just one team; it was our culture.
The case was closed. My supervisor later shared with me Karen informed Donna I was the one who filed the complaint with HR. That was completely untrue. Karen didn’t take responsibility for her actions. Hearing that was disturbing and hurtful. I would later realize my being thrown under the bus would be another nail in my career coffin.
It was apparent Karen wanting me to stay in her org was really about keeping me under her control. She held the power to sideline me, and eventually show me the door. My observation of ageism was a reflection of the culture on her teams as well. She would have none of it. And that brings me to reflecting on the entire year.
Job Duty Reassignment Led to Layoff
Honestly, my year-long experience with workplace age discrimination started on day one of my new marketing job.
As a Lead Product Marketing Manager, part of my responsibility would be to run product messaging campaigns in collaboration with an external advertising agency. I would begin working with a seasoned veteran, who I will call Tony. I learned that Karen brought Tony along with her on a couple of her assignments, including this one. He was a trusted, valued employee to her. He was a probably ten years younger than me. Tony was a consummate expert on the messaging for his campaigns. He will tell you, the volumes of spreadsheets, forms and minutia involved were not his first love.
Curiously, instead of diving straight into my new role, my supervisor asked me to assist Tony in getting his projects back on track for a couple of weeks. I willingly took on the back-end administrative tasks of his campaigns. He was returning from a lengthy medical absence and had a lot on his plate. Plus, I could learn a great deal from Tony. He had extensive experience and was easy to talk to. Despite the complexity and monotony of the administrative work, I was eager to help and expected to be given my own campaigns to manage soon.
However, that turned out to be wishful thinking. I was relegated to this type of admin work for the rest of the year. This is what is known as ‘job reassignment’ in discrimination cases. Older workers are often marginalized, and given duties that are more menial and seem unimportant in the big picture. It can also be a way to embarrass, or frustrate a worker, in the hopes the employee will leave on their own.
Hindsight
The Layoff: Almost a year to the day I started my new job, I learned the news at 7:30 one morning. My supervisor called to dispassionately read the official HR statement. I was notified my job was being eliminated. It was not lost on me that a younger person had recently been rehired after resigning a few years earlier. Any policy of last one in, first one out did not apply. I had seniority, consistently high performance reviews, with substantial bonuses. None of it mattered. It came down to my age. Ultimately my supervisor and AVP made final decisions, and any of the other targeted people over 50 on my team were ultimately saved. At 70, I was expendable.
Losing your career due to workplace age discrimination is an incredibly difficult experience, both emotionally and financially. I felt frustrated, overwhelmed. Helpless. Fearful of the future without a job. Despite years of hard work and dedication, here I was. It was heartbreaking to have the rug coldly pulled out from underneath me in an instant. Gone were my health and life insurance. Financial stability vanished. Would I be able to keep our recently purchased home?
I was inconsolable for days on end – sobbing and grieving as though a loved one had died. A bottomless depression consumed me. My husband and son tried their best to comfort me. Telling me we would be ok. I was reminded of countless incidents over the past year where I felt undermined and sidelined. That everyone on my team acknowledged we had been operating in a toxic work environment all year. I was reminded I had to seek therapy for stress, depression and anxiety. I had labeled my experience in recent months as a hostile work environment. My work life had been miserable for most of the year. For eleven months, I had been deprived of having the role I was promoted to. Instead, I had been reassigned to a role of administrative assistant to a peer.
Examples of My Subtle 'Job Reassignment'
Previously, I regularly made expert presentations to leadership and large teams. In this new role, I had no opportunity to present for a year, despite my peers doing so frequently. Shortly before the end, I was asked to develop four slides for review by our AVP. Although presenting my best work, each time I shared a draft, my supervisor stopped me almost as soon as I started. Had I not listened to her instructions? My AVP would not like my work. I left those virtual calls dumfounded and in tears. Not only was the work environment toxic, it now was a hostile work environment. My supervisor seemed to have a new personality, and became a bully. She used harsh language, and belittled my work. That had never happened to me, and I left each call with her in tears, and frustrated. I became riddled with anxiety. Lost sleep. What was happening?
There was yet another clue as to what was to come. Karen referred to everyone on my team, except me, as a ‘Koala.’ I never learned why she coined that term, but my supervisor told me she recognized that I was different, ‘other.’ Near the end, Karen suggested my supervisor have me lead a couple of campaigns. I was to be a Koala, she said. Yet, I never was fully given the reigns to any campaign. Some product lines I worked on were not high value to the AVP, and might soon be discontinued. I suppose that was to align with the ‘your job has been eliminated’ line of defense.
I couldn’t understand why a job that started with such promise in the interview stage never materialized. The team chose me. The Supervisor and AVP chose me. Why had I been offered a set of responsibilities, yet robbed of every being able to embrace the role? An attorney would later provide the name of the action taken against me. They see it all the time in workplace discrimination cases of all kinds. It is called “job duty reassignment.
It Took Falling Flat on My Face to See Clearly!
The formal layoff procedure put me on the clock with few options. Sign an arbitration agreement and receive a severance package. Or don’t sign, receive no severance, but perhaps be able to seek legal recourse. I sought advice from reputable attorney firms specializing in workplace age discrimination. They heard my story and saw the records I had documented over the course of the past year. Three companies would take my case, but I would have to agree not to sign the arbitration agreement. My husband and I recently purchased a home. Losing a significant part of our income suddenly, could put our financial future in jeopardy. Could we risk going through up to two years of litigation without my income, and keep our house and lifestyle? We had planned retiring to Canada in two yeas anyway. What was the best course of action?
And then it hit me. Literally. While walking, I suddenly fell face first on the sidewalk in broad daylight. Briefly losing consciousness, I found myself in an ambulance on the way to a trauma center. Just like that. Seventeen hours later, after some stitches on my face and rounds of various tests, my husband took me home. I collapsed into bed. Confused and in turmoil. Why was this happening to me?
I was unable to sleep or eat. I literally sobbed until all of my energy was spent. For days on end. Then, came the seismic shift . I was up in the middle of the night, alone with my thoughts. Trying to make sense of it all. Sobbing. As I passed by a mirror, I caught my reflection. Astonished to see the hideous creature staring back at me.
Both of my eyes were surrounded with the most gruesome looking bruises, where my sunglasses had gored my face when I fell. My nose was cut and dented. Face swollen. Four crude stitches oozed on my forehead. I would be scarred for life. As that realization presented itself, so did something more profound.
For the first time, I saw the physical manifestation of the abuse I fell victim to over the past year. If workplace age discrimination, with all that it extorts from its victims had a face, this was it. This was the countenance of that naked abuse.
Instead of crying and ruminating about my experience as normal, I found myself starting to turn a corner. My power as a human began its journey back to me. I could literally feel it. I may not have the career I had loved, but I will always have my words. I could change that feeling of victimhood. My dad’s voice once again echoed in my head. I mentioned at the start of this blog, Dad would tell me, “Fight with your words, Kiddie.” And so, I decided to take the severance, and ensure financial solvency. I had a pension and savings, and now a severance package. We would survive this. I can’t say I will ever be whole, in terms of how entire experience has affected me, both physically and mentally. There may still be legal avenues remaining to me. At least now, six months later, I feel somewhat stronger and physically ready to pursue finding a resolution.
In the meantime, writing this blog, providing resources and a platform to others is a key staple of my new life. It helps me to put my feet on the floor each morning and stand in gratitude. A new path has revealed itself, and I will follow it.
Epilogue: My CEO Said The Quiet Part Out Loud - Age Matters
On a recent employee call about shareholder earnings in Dallas, the company CEO was asked what seemed a simple question: Is the company concerned that all of the recent layoffs, combined with the mandate for remote employees to return to work in hub cities, will lead to an erosion of expertise? His unscripted response floored most in the vast audience. He said our workforce is too old. We need a younger workforce that better mirrors our customer base. That age is a factor in your employment status. He went on to mention that some of the floors in our Dallas and Atlanta hubs look like they should be named ‘Shady Pines or ‘Green Acres.’ Mr. Stankey had, on a separate occasion, said the company ‘didn’t need someone who knows how to use an abacus.’
And there you have it. Removing workers like me, over the age of 50 has been the plan all along. Wish I had known that sooner.
* Link to Referenced Article in Paragraph 3
"There is a middle path, but it goes only in one direction: toward the light. Your light. The one that goes blink, blink, blink, blink inside your chest when you know what you are doing is right."