People in their 50s shouldn't feel there is no career runway left

Misguided assumptions are driving age bias and grounding older workers who still have much to offer.

- Lyn Lee

Fifty-eight-year-old Angela Tan had served her workplace for 25 years, leading a customer support team. She trained new hires, steadied the ship in a crisis, and was the colleague everyone turned to.

Then came a request from her boss: Could she mentor a younger colleague? Ever the diligent worker, Angela agreed to this. It was only later that she realised this colleague was being groomed to take her place. The promotion Angela had quietly worked towards—customer support manager—never came. She was told she was "too valuable" where she was, and the organisation wanted a manager with "fresh ideas" to modernise the customer experience.

Many seasoned professionals have walked this path, their careers stalling in their 50s. They are dedicated, capable, yet too often sidelined and passed over for roles they are more than capable of leading because of misguided assumptions about age and adaptability.

Labels such as "inflexible", "not adaptable" and "no runway left" do not consider the value each person brings, nor their potential as mature workers to bring more to the table.

AGEISM ON THE RISE

An Institute of Policy Studies survey found that 17.6 per cent of Singaporeans believe ageism has worsened in the past five years, more than race or gender bias. Among workers aged 51 to 65, 21.1 per cent felt they had been passed over for opportunities.

A separate Fair Employment Practices report showed that the share of older job seekers who reported age bias rose from 16.6 per cent in 2022, to 18.1 per cent in 2023.

Yet, the employment "runway" is getting longer. The current retirement age of 63 and re-employment age of 68 are being raised to 64 and 69, respectively, in just under a year's time—in July 2026. By 2030, the ages will go up to 65 and 70.

WHY DO OLDER WORKERS GET SIDELINED?