Age is Just a Number: The Stages of Ages in Workforce Development

My intention was to write about something different this week, but since I am about to turn another year older, age is on my mind. Specifically to discuss the terms of age that workforce professionals drop in the office and may not be concrete or official, but are accepted.  

Below are some of my favorite words and jargon dropped in workforce development like the F-Bomb on a daytime “who’s the baby’s daddy talk show.”  

• Youth- There may be a government definition of the ages for classification into this group, but every now and then, someone that displays the characteristics of this official group, but is few years passed may get lumped into this group.  Imagine if all the “youth” in the office had to wear shirts distinguishing themselves as such. I would imagine that there would be some shockers when someone who acts like one of these folks is found out to be older than the definition and someone that was considered wise beyond his years ends up in a youth shirt.  

• Young Professional- Somewhere along the line the “youth” turns into a “young professional.”  Apparently if you get a job in the “professional” world and you are “young” or “young enough” you magically fit this category.  I learned that you are a“young professional” until you turn age 36 at which time you must shrivel up and become a “regular professional” or “old professional.”  It seems silly that at age 36 you are suddenly old and/or regular, but apparently this is standard workforce development talk. The other ridiculous thing is the assumption that just because you are working you are professional. If you look in the dictionary, you will learn that the word “professional” not only refers to doing a job to make money, but also acting in a certain manner or “professional,” but I would like to remind people that the workplace clown can be 22 years old or 72 years old, and it also does not mean you have the skill do anything for a living.

Before I move on to the “mature worker,” I’d like to point out the void in terminology starting at age 36 and going until the “mature worker.”  There is not a term for this span that can last anywhere between 4 years and 20 years depending who you ask. This must be the most “regular” part of the average person’s working life.  I don’t think anyone has come up with a defining term for this part of the career, but if I am wrong please feel free to comment and correct me.  During a person’s “regular” years they are apparently not special enough to have a term to identify with and are either too old or young for any other category.  As silly and sarcastic as this may sound, it is truthful. I challenge you to make up a name for these folks.

• Mature Worker- Eventually, you stop being young, regular, and one day end up mature. I know 40 year old people that call themselves mature workers and people that are 60 that do not think that they belong in this group. Age is just a number and an adjective is just an adjective.  The funniest thing about this term is that there is not a standard definition for the “mature worker,” but suddenly the politicians and experts want to toss this around like a hot potato.  Again, maturity is state of mind. There are people that are 20 that act “more mature” than a 60 year old.  The other interesting thing about this is how this seems to have been born from political correctness. Somewhere there was a workforce development professional too afraid to say to someone that he was “old,” so instead we decided that if you have 10 or more years on your age than the “young professional,” you are mature.

• Older Worker- Like the youth, the older worker is something that is officially blessed by the federal government. If you are 55 years old or older, you are an “older worker” regardless of state of mind. If you an “older worker” you may visit the career center in your area and a well-meaning workforce development professional decides to refer to you as mature.  I think everyone is afraid of the negative connotation that comes with the world “old” in America and people are afraid to say it. In workforce development, we are customer oriented people pleasers and we know that calling people “old” only gets us in trouble.  Although there is official money and programming available to this population, the term does make me think that I am being welcomed to the largest retailer in the world by someone in a blue vest.  My only question is: What’s the age cap?  With people living longer and the Social Security Administration getting poorer, suddenly age 55 doesn't seem so old. Many people will continue to work well the traditional retirement age of 65.  Someday there may be a 100 year old person as a CEO of a large corporation.  Maybe we will have to come up with a new category? Will the government start referring to these people as the “oldest workers?”

If anyone has any others that I missed or wants to comment on this, feel free by posting below or sending me an email at kcirincione@gmail.com. I am off to enjoy the festivities that come with my particular age-stage and to also ponder the question of why government holiday means “time to buy a mattress.” Happy President’s Day! ~Karen Cirincione