Avoid being pushed to retirement To retirement
If you feel like your boss is railroading you into retirement before you’re ready, you don’t have to sit there and take it. Gary Martin argues there are steps you can take
IT is an unavoidable part of growing older. At some stage, everyone expects you to retire – even if you are not ready to do so. Mostly, you will be able throw cold water on others’ plans for you.
However, when it is your boss who is giving you the vibes that it is time to power down the office laptop for the very last time, things are a little more challenging.
Everyone wants to set their own retirement date, not least because those forced to call it quits prematurely often have difficulty adjusting to postworking life.
Little advance warning can leave retirees both mentally and emotionally unprepared for what can be a massive change in direction.
Those propelled into retirement are likely to feel angry, unfairly treated and abandoned.
It is those feelings that will interfere with their ability to build a new retirement identity, which is why it is important to resist attempts to be railroaded into retirement.
As awareness of ageism has grown, those wanting to shove older workers out of the office door have realised it is unlawful to direct an employee to retire.
Not that this has dampened the enthusiasm of some bosses to try to remove those they consider long in the tooth or close to retirement age from the workplace.
With older workers continuing to be unfairly stereotyped as unable to learn new tricks, resistant to change, challenged by technology, prone to illness and slower to get tasks done, some bosses have resorted to some underhanded tactics.
That’s why it is important to recognise the seemingly benign signs of being pushed into retirement prematurely to formulate a plan to combat what often constitutes a covert act of ageism.
If the work you have been assigned lately seems less stimulating or more short-term in nature, it may not be a coincidence. It could be a sign that your boss wants you gone sooner rather than later.
Assigning older workers to unstimulating work or sidelining them from long-term projects of strategic significance are common ploys to make the employee want to move on.
Alarm bells should sound if your application to undertake training has been rejected and you have been overlooked for a more senior role or encouraged to cut your hours.
The same is true if you are denied the resources you need to do the work, are the target of rude comments or silly jokes about your age or the boss seems less engaged with you than usual.
Watch out too if your retirement becomes a point of conversation around the office. It may well be that the boss has dropped the topic into a discussion with some of your colleagues to get you thinking about an early departure.
If your colleagues start to assume you will be leaving sooner than you intend to, you may get the lame-duck treatment – or even worse, some may start angling for your job.
Armed with an appreciation of what constitutes an attempt to force you into early retirement, you can be ready to act.
Make regular announcements to confirm you “love what you do” and be vocal with your colleagues that you have no intention of retiring any time soon.
Invest in yourself by staying up to date with industry trends and complete low-cost online courses, even if you have to pay for them yourself.
Get a mentor to assist you
age Don’t buy into way stereotypes – the you think can influence the way you act
with shortcomings. A younger person, for example, may be willing to mentor you on technology trends.
Offer to take on challenging roles that match your strengths and make yourself available to coach new or younger team members.
Don’t buy into age stereotypes – the way you think can influence the way you act. Keep networks active and take some time each year to update your resume and online profile to show that you remain “career active”.
Most importantly, ensure you project the same level of professionalism and polish as those who are younger to counteract the stereotype that older workers lack enthusiasm and energy.
Staying in the workplace can mean bucking others’ expectations. It can also trigger resentment and misunderstanding.
However, it is possible to fight stereotyping by planting seeds of doubt in the minds of an ageist boss or colleagues to arrest or delay their covert attempts to railroad you into early retirement.
At the end of the day, it is best to start thinking about your retirement before your boss does the thinking for you – and that means staying on top of your career game.