The age at which most of us expect to retire—if indeed we do expect to be able to do so—is gently creeping upwards, particularly as life expectancy increases. We are active and capable for longer, and many of us are choosing to spend our energy in working well past the age at which our grandparents retired. This means that for many of us, “working life” could well last 45 to 50 years.

This has implications for both individuals and society as a whole. With more people wishing to work at any one time, there are likely to be fewer jobs to go round in future. To be able to compete with younger workers who may be cheaper and also be more experienced with new technology, older people need to ensure that they keep themselves relevant to be able to stay in employment as long as they want to do so. This page explains more about how to do this.

The Realities of Getting Older

It is an uncomfortable fact that many of us encounter age-related concerns and even discrimination long before retirement.

A study among older people in the UK found that around a third of people aged 50 and over reported regularly experiencing ageism or age discrimination at work—despite this type of discrimination being illegal.

Another study among HR managers and directors across more than 30 countries found that a massive 74% had seen general age discrimination in the workplace. High proportions advocated for more flexibility around retirement age—but more for earlier retirement, rather than later. This suggests that most companies would generally prefer to see fewer older workers employed. This is backed up by the finding that only 25% of those surveyed felt that employing people over 55 years old was a priority in their workplace.

In other words, workplace culture itself can and does discriminate against older workers.

In fact, age discrimination can affect any one of us—and probably at almost any age.

It is important to appreciate that age discrimination is unlikely to be deliberate by or for most people.

It is just that, as one commentator put it, “The reality is that people see me as old.”

It is very hard to avoid this.

When we meet people, we immediately assess them, largely unconsciously. We make judgements about their abilities, and much of that is going to be based on appearances. When you are face to face with someone, it is relatively easy to guess their age—at least to within 10 years. When you send a CV, you may not include your date of birth—but you do include your education and employment history, with dates, and that gives a very good idea of your age. Unconsciously or not, this will cause people to make judgements about you.

Self-discrimination can also operate.

People may assume that they are not able to acquire new skills because of their age, or that it is not worth putting in the effort to stay relevant because they will be overlooked for opportunities anyway. New technology such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) can also have a disproportionate impact on older workers—either genuinely, or in their own views and those of others.

What Steps Can You Take to Stay Relevant?

There are many things that you might do to stay relevant at work in your 50s and beyond. However, they may not all be equally successful.

The “standard” suggestion is that you should continue to develop your skills on an ongoing basis. In other words, continuous learning and skill development is the answer.

However, it should be clear that skill development in isolation is not necessarily helpful. The key is to develop the right skills at the right time to fill a gap in your workplace. The real question is how to identify these skills.

Emmanuelle Léon, Associate Professor of Human Resources at ESCP, the business school in France, suggests that it is important to stay close to where the work is happening to identify the required skills. She points out that most of the real changes in how work is done emerge from operational decisions, rather than in executive meetings. It is therefore important to stay up-to-date on how exactly work is being achieved every day in your organisation—and that applies wherever you are on the corporate ladder.

Other characteristics and strategies that will help you stay relevant include:

• Staying curious about work and beyond

  There is one characteristic that seems to be more important than most in staying relevant: curiosity.

  People who manage to stay relevant are generally curious about what is happening around them. They ask the difficult questions, and don’t accept the answers at face value. This allows them to add value to operations and to understand more about how things work. In a world where answers are increasingly supplied by generative AI, this is increasingly important.

  When Being Older May Be an Advantage

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  Older people, especially those over 40, have a big advantage when it comes to AI: they didn’t grow up with it.

  They are not used to having all the answers supplied by AI. Instead, they know how to go looking for accurate answers, and how to assess the quality of a piece of online information. That is a very real skill—and one that younger workers often now lack.

• Being able to build and maintain relationships

  Many commentators have highlighted the lack of social skills among young people now emerging from school and university.

  There seems to be little question that social media has changed how young people expect to build and maintain relationships. They often find it harder to build genuine relationships in real life. The capacity to build and maintain relationships is therefore a real strength—and one that will help you to stay relevant.

  Crucially, the relationships that you build can also help you to stay relevant, because they enable you to build trust and demonstrate your reliability.

• Be prepared to ‘unlearn’ old skills, not just learn new ones

  As we mature, we develop habits and assumptions about how we work, and about other people.

  These habits and assumptions give us ‘shortcuts’ for decision-making. They enable us to complete tasks effectively and efficiently.

  The problem is that they can quietly but rapidly become ineffective when something changes. Staying relevant requires us to be willing to consciously stop using established habits and skills, and replace them with new mental shortcuts.

  Our page on Reflective Practice may be helpful in developing the necessary awareness of yourself to be able to do this.

Finding an Alternative Route

What do you do if despite your best efforts to stay relevant, you find yourself out of work and unable to find another job past the age of 50?

On the face of it, this looks like a challenging situation.

However, the answer may be deceptively simple. If the corporate world won’t have you, consider embracing self-employment. Start your own business, or join the gig economy, and use the skills that you have gained from a long corporate career. This could easily be the start of a whole new career.

There is more about this in our page on Top Tips for Freelancers.

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A Final Thought

There is much that you can do to stay relevant at work at 50 and beyond.

However, there is also much about employment over which you have no control.

The survey of HR managers and directors reminds us that even HR executives do not entirely control the hiring practices and culture of their organisations. Age discrimination is a reality, even if it is illegal in many places, simply because we all make judgements about each other on a daily basis.

Does that mean you should do nothing to help yourself to stay relevant? Far from it. Work to stay relevant, but also recognise that one of the most important skills as you age is being flexible in your thinking, and willing to embrace new opportunities—even if unsought.

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