If you have worked in the same place for a while, and who are perhaps in your 50s, how do you think you are perceived in the workplace? Do you feel respected for your experience or are you made to feel like a dinosaur?
I have worked somewhere for 10+ years. I am in a mid range office job. Not a high flier, I have always preferred a job I can leave at the door rather than an all consuming role. I am very proactive, forward looking, like innovation and like learning new skills. I am not a dinosaur clinging on to "we have always done it this way" and stuck in a rut. In my personal life I have an activity filled life, travel a lot, have great experiences. I am married, no kids, mortgage paid so lots of time and money to indulge myself.
Despite that I feel a bit like I don't fit in the organisation now. I feel like an oddity. The level I am at is mostly carried out by people in their 30s, a lot of people my age are much higher up the ladder. Although this is my choice I feel almost as if I have been written off. I am there, like an office chair or the stationery cupboard. It is making me feel old (but only at work, in the real world I don't have that self perception). I hate the feeling. (I am going through the menopause, an ending if you like, so that may be making me Uber sensitive.)
What has annoyed me is we are having 1-2-1 with new boss. One other colleague, same age as me and a few in their 30s have had their interviews. All of the people in the 30s were asked where they saw themselves in 5 years, my older colleague wasn't asked. I have not had my interview yet.
Do you feel respected (for wisdom/experience) or disregarded in the workplace - and do you think either is because of your age?
Not sure if this is the right place for this. And apologies for the length.