Post-Industrial Workplace Cultures

There’s a lot of authenticity to this story of a man’s journey through post-industrial America. The reality isn’t those stories of “making your own way;” for the majority of working people, the narrative is filled with tales of coping with big-picture changes in today’s workplace. More respect for the reality of the situation might result in more respect for America’s working class, which has been failed again and again by society at large, in large part contributing to the frustration with authority we’ve seen in modern civic life. You can read this great piece by David Brooks in The New York Times.

Image credit: Luke Sharrett for NYT

The Plague of Ageism

Ageism in the workplace is something I’ve written about extensively. I wanted to highlight a letter to the editor of the New York Times on a recent piece they published on the subject. I completely agree with this letter’s characterization of ageism in the workplace as a “plague.” In the piece this letter responds to, I was startled to learn that data shows age 32 is when women start experiencing ageism in the workplace. This is a widespread, systemic problem that’s only going to get worse if we don’t address it head-on. Any stereotypes about “older workers” don’t really hold up when you look at the data – so why do so many employers scorn the prospect of hiring older employees? You can read that letter to the editor here.

Main Image: Ping Zhu via NYT