On Speaking with a midlifer recently, I was interested in her frustrations about being labelled as the “Mother” amongst her coworkers. While the term was given affectionately, she felt frustrated, her age seemed to shape how others treated her and not always in ways that helped her career.
She’d recently gone for a promotion and was turned down with vague feedback. It left her wondering if people had quietly assigned her a different role, less professional contributor, more team nurturer. She was seen as the kind ear, the emotional anchor… no longer someone others went to for strategic ideas or big initiatives.
It made me wonder, how often do midlifers, find themselves nudged into this kind of role? Is the workplace unconsciously assigning them positions shaped more by age-related perceptions than performance?
This isn’t an isolated story. I’ve heard similar accounts from midlife professionals, mainly women, but I’d be interested to know if it happens to men too?
Have you experienced being given an unspoken ‘role’ at work that didn’t match your actual skills or ambitions? How did it affect you and did you challenge any quiet biases underpinning it?
The Midlife Mash Up 
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