Ageism in the Workplace
Published on 17 September 2026 11:06 AM
Older people can experience ageism in the workplace regardless of their area of work - even if you are a pop-star whose career spans over 6 decades.
Last week, the popular ITV show 'The Voice' announced that Sir Tom Jones would be leaving his post as mentor after being in the show for 13 years. Referring to this on social media, the music legend pointed to the financial pressure his insurance policy to work would put on the show as the motive behind the executive's decision to take him off his spinning chair. Sir Tom Jones is currently 86 years of age.
Is he too old to be working? This is the questions posed to his listeners by John Darvall on BBC Radio Bristol on Thursday 9th September. Kay Libby, Age UK Bristol CEO, joined John on his show to talk about how ageism can affect older people, whether you are a Grammy-award winner or a regular Bristolian in the workplace.
During her interview, Kay shared "Ageism affect all people, especially older people, and even older celebrities. When you get older you become almost invisible to society."
"Older people need to see someone of their age on tv, they need to see these older celebrities in order to still feel connected to the wider society. If you don't, then you are almost whitewashed out of the picture altogether", added Kay.
Referring to the singer's case, Kay also shared: "I'm very struck now that Tom Jones is experiencing that same thing, at 86, and that he is actually calling us out on it." She then continued to add: "This is not about him performing, this is about him giving his wisdom and experience to younger performers, and I think that is a good thing and that he can't be passed it in that respect."
Although ageism might not affect every older person in the workplace, as presenter John Darvall suggested, it still has a large-scale impact and is an experience many older people are familiar with. Research carried out by the National Institute of Economics and Social Research and Demos, found that 36% of people between the ages of 50 and 69 think their age puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to applying to jobs, more than any other age group. This study also identified that 17% of people in their 50s and 60s has experienced direct discrimination in the workplace. The impact on those who experienced age-related discrimination is severe. This group reported it made them feel insecure at work, affected their confidence, and it even affected their health and wellbeing.
Would you like to know more about ageism and how it can affect people? We recommend this free resource produced by the Bristol Older People's Forum: Challenging Ageism E-learning Module. This module was developed in partnership with Bristol City Council's Equalities team. It covers age stereotyping, age discrimination and how ageism works.