Aging Up, Not Out

Women at Work

Starting sometime around our mid-50s, work presents us with a new set of biases. Coworkers assume that older people are tired and uninterested in professional development. Eventually they start asking when you’re going to retire. But experience and maturity can give women an advantage in the workplace.

Amy B. and Amy G. interview aging expert Nancy Morrow-Howell about putting in the effort to stay current, how to assert yourself when you feel overlooked, and what to say when people ask that annoying retirement question. Then, HBR.org editor Maureen Hoch joins the Amys to talk about what growing older has been like for them. They also give advice on leaving a secure job for new opportunities and managing the combined stress of parenting, a demanding career, and menopause.

Our HBR reading list:

• “When No One Retires,” by Paul Irving
• “The Case for Hiring Older Workers,” by Josh Bersin and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
• “Four Ways to Adapt to an Aging Workforce,” by Michael North and Hal Hershfield
• “Generational Differences At Work Are Small. Thinking They’re Big Affects Our Behavior,” by Eden King et al.

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Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.