Happy new year. It looks like we’ll be working some more to fight ageism in 2020.

And we can begin on the job. The top five types of ageist behavior in American occur in the workplace, according to a new survey. (The answers after five had to do with dating.)

When OnePoll, on behalf of resume-building and career website Zety, polled approximately 2,000 adults, 47% said they personally had experienced ageism, and 39% said they had witnessed it. Results were not restricted to the senior living industry.

The ways that polled Americans said they most frequently had experienced ageism themselves were not getting a job (47%), being passed up for an interview (39%), being passed up for a promotion (32%), not being allowed to apply for a job (19%), and being laid off or fired from a job (17%).

The top ways that survey participants had witnessed ageism included seeing someone not get a job (40%), seeing someone being fired or laid off (34%), seeing someone get passed up for a promotion (30%), seeing someone get passed up for an interview (27%) and seeing someone not be allowed to apply for a job (19%).

When we’re fighting ageism, don’t forget to look in the mirror. Despite being affected by or witnessing ageism, 33% of survey respondents said they occasionally viewed people in a negative light due to their age.

On the receiving end, both millennials and baby boomers expressed having age-related concerns in the workplace, so even though we tend to think of age discrimination as involving people aged 40 or more years, it makes sense to try to reduce any kind of stereotyping and prejudicial thinking related to a co-worker’s or job candidate’s age.

Let’s call it a collective new year’s resolution to fight ageism in 2020, although I’m sure the issue won’t be resolved this year. But solutions can’t come fast enough for the senior living industry and others facing worker shortages.

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