Maybe so, but if our generation knows what it’s like to find the ladders pulled up, and we don’t care enough to put them back for the younger people behind us, who will?
Let’s stop this idiotic hazing ritual. 15 years ago I was a recent grad and people were saying similar stuff. These attitudes kept people my age out of many workplaces. It was shortsighted.
I was rejected many times before I got my first job, and managers in my first roles used my age against me a lot, especially when I didn’t stay in my lane. Finally a company removed my leash and treated me as an opportunity rather than a threat, and they got a big return on that investment, but it took years to find a place like that.
We were acquired and I’m doing other stuff now, but when I see my products in the wild, I sometimes wonder about all those hiring managers who couldn’t see past my age. Did they ever learn that unreplaceable means unpromotable? Did they ever learn to have a bench? What would we have built together if they weren’t so afraid of change?
Of course this is just one story, and profit isn’t a proper motive for doing what’s right. But those who don’t care that ageism is bad for society should at least consider that it’s bad for business and their careers.