WHY VALUABLE EXPERTISE GOES UNUSED
Why Valuable Expertise Goes Unused
The Persistence of Age Discrimination in Shaping Late Working Lives
Publisher: Ageing & Society, Cambridge University Press
Authors: Rachel Crossdale, Liam Foster and Alan Walker, University of Sheffield
Published: 12 October 2026
Read the full open-access paper
Key finding
Based on 25 detailed interviews with people aged over 55, the paper finds that workplace ageism operates through two mutually reinforcing forces:
- Structural ageism: exclusion from training, digital systems, workplace decisions and social interaction.
- Internalised ageism: experienced people gradually accepting assumptions that they are slower, less adaptable or should “make way” for younger colleagues.
Together, these can create a feedback loop in which workplace practices weaken older workers’ confidence, causing disengagement and self-exclusion that appear to confirm the original stereotype.
The research also challenges the idea that retaining older workers deprives younger people of opportunities. More highly educated participants were particularly likely to see their later-career role evolving into supporting and mentoring younger colleagues, rather than blocking their progression.