June 18, 2025 • 8 mins
Greg Giangrande joins Mendte in the Morning to talk about ageism in the workplace and the increasing average age of workers.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Curiously, the toilet paper again. We're going to talk about
toilet paper again. I tell you what, I talk about
important things all day, right, I talk about the possibility
of World War three beginning, the future of the city,
the future of the country, you know, political anger, assassinations.
Nobody calls about that. Very few people call about that.
(00:20):
Talk about toilet paper and how to put it on
the roll. Everybody wants to talk about it, including Greg
gan Grande, who who said, I want to start off.
I really want to get in on this toilet paper debate.
So Greg, he sounds like it. Greg gan Grande is
the career advice expert. You can check him out at
(00:41):
go to greg dot com. So have at it. What
do you have to say about toilet paper.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Greg, Larry, I know workplace matters are really important, but
they pal understate. There is no debate. It is over,
But in our household there is a quiet war. I
will turn it over and then later on in the
day I will come in and find that it's magically under.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Oh they took the extra over, and then.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
The next day it'll be under again. And another point
I want to make, Larry, because this is really important.
Any hotel that you go to when you go into
the bathroom, they always fold the end into a point
to show that the bathroom was clean. You can't do
that if it's under Larry, it has to be over,
otherwise the point won't stay true.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, we still do it under because it is more
I don't know if you heard the story, but it's
more hygienic. Doesn't that matter to you?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Well, then why does every hotel in the world do
over with a point?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
They don't know any better? Hey, by the way, who's
doing this at your house? Who's the culprit? Who is
changing it from over to under?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I suspect it's my wife.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
You've got to get a security camera now you get
a bathroom. Yes, it'd be a problem. Yeah, I guess
that wouldn't go over. Well, I didn't really think that
out when I said it. All right, let's talk about ageism,
because I think this is an extremely important topic. For
a while there, I think things are changing right now.
But for a while there, I thought agism was the
(02:18):
only acceptedism. You know, sexism, bad, racism, bad everything, All
these other things are taboo. For a while, it seemed
agism was okay that people of a certain age weren't protected,
Are they protected in the workplace?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
In fact, it's in fact, it's the opposite. And the
law about age discrimination really needs to be updated because
it was enacted like seven sixty years ago, and the
age at which you can actually make a claim for
age discrimination is forty, So think about that. So millennials
(02:58):
can file for age discriminating. But that's when life expectancy
was far lower than it is today and people retired
a lot earlier than it is today. But no, agism
is unfortunately a reality that exists, but less so in
a more intentional discriminatory way and more in an unconscious
(03:21):
kind of bias ways. It's more about like this perception
that older workers are resistant to change, or they're less
tech savvy, or they have less energy. And so that's
where this unconscious, unconscious bias can show up in hiring.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
You know, it's funny you talk about this because I
know a lot of friends when they hit a certain age,
get off for buyouts. Get off for buyouts, rather than
them waiting for them to retire. And so I tell
people all the time, don't retire, just keep holding on.
Eventually they'll offer your buyout. Why leave with nothing. Is
that happening more and more in workplaces?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
It is. In fact, Google just announced the buyout. Lots
of companies offer to do that, and you know, it's
less about age and more about level and cost. So
the higher the level, the more expensive, the more someone
(04:22):
is earning, then the more cost the company can take
out with fewer people. So it's not really that they're
targeting age. They're targeting how much cost can they get
out with the fewer people, and that tends to be
people with more experience who are later in their career.
But it's not really about age.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Well, but doesn't that save a company if they use
that excuse that you just laid out very well, if
they use that excuse, they can't be sued for agism
for trying to buy somebody out.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
It's true. It's a voluntary program and if somebody volunteers
to accept that buy then they can't be accused of
age discrimination. So it is a safer way to conduct
a voluntary layoff than just an involuntary one where you
do open yourself up as a company to all sorts
(05:16):
of potential claims. Now that's said just because there are claims.
Most companies today particularly like big companies. They're not doing
anything discriminatory most of the time. And all of these
programs and even when they do layoffs, they are vetted
by human resources professionals and legal professionals. It doesn't stop
(05:38):
people from making claims, and it doesn't stop some companies
from making mistakes, but they're generally not designed to be discriminatory.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
I want to talk about working for a younger boss,
and in doing so, I want to tell you a story.
And it really did. It happened here. We have a
new head of the company upstairs who's young, I mean
relations to him, he's very young. And I went up
to meet him for the first time and I didn't
know this, and he asked to have a meeting and
I walked up and the first thing I said to
(06:08):
him was, oh my god, you're so young. Was that
a mistake?
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Well, listen, was it a career limiting move? Probably not.
But I wouldn't make a reference to anyone's age or
gender or like you're really good for a woman, or.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Never said that. I've never ever said.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
That to those types of demographic.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, I was just surprised. I mean, he was really
actually genuine, but I could tell that he was uncomfortable
with it, and I regretted it right away, to the
point where I'm still talking about it. Are there challenges
for working for someone much younger?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
There are perceived challenges right there. I think older workers
get defensive and they think somehow that either it's unfair
that they're working for someone who has a lot less
experience than they do, and then they try to overcompensate,
or they just say or do stupid things. And I
think you just have to think of your boss as
(07:11):
your boss and not about age, and always present yourself
as someone who is current, who's technologically current, who is
not resistant to change, and who what you bring, which
is a lot of experience. How that can help your
boss and help the company, rather than bringing it from
a defensive posture like what do they know? I've been
(07:34):
around a lot longer. That's the sure way to get
an involuntary offer to lead the company.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
All right, let's go back to the toilet paper for
one second. How are you going to solve this problem
in your house? I think that you maybe should get something,
you know, some type of lock so nobody can change
it back and you can you can have your will
all the time.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
As with many other debates at home, I just give in.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
You just give up.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Just give up. It's the easiest way to keep peace.
And it just doesn't matter that much whether it's over
or under, but personally it really should be over.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Yeah, it seems to bug you. It seems to bug
you a lot, But that's great advice. I do the
exact same thing. I talk a big game, but I'm
a whimp at home, just like you. Greg gan Grande,
career advice expert. You can check them out at go
to Greg dot com. You can ask him a question
and maybe we'll use it on the air next week.
Thanks a lot, Greg, Thank you week. Talk to you
(08:37):
next week.
Curiously, the toilet paper again. We're going to talk about
toilet paper again. I tell you what, I talk about
important things all day, right, I talk about the possibility
of World War three beginning, the future of the city,
the future of the country, you know, political anger, assassinations.
Nobody calls about that. Very few people call about that.
(00:20):
Talk about toilet paper and how to put it on
the roll. Everybody wants to talk about it, including Greg
gan Grande, who who said, I want to start off.
I really want to get in on this toilet paper debate.
So Greg, he sounds like it. Greg gan Grande is
the career advice expert. You can check him out at
(00:41):
go to greg dot com. So have at it. What
do you have to say about toilet paper.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Greg, Larry, I know workplace matters are really important, but
they pal understate. There is no debate. It is over,
But in our household there is a quiet war. I
will turn it over and then later on in the
day I will come in and find that it's magically under.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Oh they took the extra over, and then.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
The next day it'll be under again. And another point
I want to make, Larry, because this is really important.
Any hotel that you go to when you go into
the bathroom, they always fold the end into a point
to show that the bathroom was clean. You can't do
that if it's under Larry, it has to be over,
otherwise the point won't stay true.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, we still do it under because it is more
I don't know if you heard the story, but it's
more hygienic. Doesn't that matter to you?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Well, then why does every hotel in the world do
over with a point?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
They don't know any better? Hey, by the way, who's
doing this at your house? Who's the culprit? Who is
changing it from over to under?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I suspect it's my wife.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
You've got to get a security camera now you get
a bathroom. Yes, it'd be a problem. Yeah, I guess
that wouldn't go over. Well, I didn't really think that
out when I said it. All right, let's talk about ageism,
because I think this is an extremely important topic. For
a while there, I think things are changing right now.
But for a while there, I thought agism was the
(02:18):
only acceptedism. You know, sexism, bad, racism, bad everything, All
these other things are taboo. For a while, it seemed
agism was okay that people of a certain age weren't protected,
Are they protected in the workplace?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
In fact, it's in fact, it's the opposite. And the
law about age discrimination really needs to be updated because
it was enacted like seven sixty years ago, and the
age at which you can actually make a claim for
age discrimination is forty, So think about that. So millennials
(02:58):
can file for age discriminating. But that's when life expectancy
was far lower than it is today and people retired
a lot earlier than it is today. But no, agism
is unfortunately a reality that exists, but less so in
a more intentional discriminatory way and more in an unconscious
(03:21):
kind of bias ways. It's more about like this perception
that older workers are resistant to change, or they're less
tech savvy, or they have less energy. And so that's
where this unconscious, unconscious bias can show up in hiring.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
You know, it's funny you talk about this because I
know a lot of friends when they hit a certain age,
get off for buyouts. Get off for buyouts, rather than
them waiting for them to retire. And so I tell
people all the time, don't retire, just keep holding on.
Eventually they'll offer your buyout. Why leave with nothing. Is
that happening more and more in workplaces?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
It is. In fact, Google just announced the buyout. Lots
of companies offer to do that, and you know, it's
less about age and more about level and cost. So
the higher the level, the more expensive, the more someone
(04:22):
is earning, then the more cost the company can take
out with fewer people. So it's not really that they're
targeting age. They're targeting how much cost can they get
out with the fewer people, and that tends to be
people with more experience who are later in their career.
But it's not really about age.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Well, but doesn't that save a company if they use
that excuse that you just laid out very well, if
they use that excuse, they can't be sued for agism
for trying to buy somebody out.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
It's true. It's a voluntary program and if somebody volunteers
to accept that buy then they can't be accused of
age discrimination. So it is a safer way to conduct
a voluntary layoff than just an involuntary one where you
do open yourself up as a company to all sorts
(05:16):
of potential claims. Now that's said just because there are claims.
Most companies today particularly like big companies. They're not doing
anything discriminatory most of the time. And all of these
programs and even when they do layoffs, they are vetted
by human resources professionals and legal professionals. It doesn't stop
(05:38):
people from making claims, and it doesn't stop some companies
from making mistakes, but they're generally not designed to be discriminatory.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
I want to talk about working for a younger boss,
and in doing so, I want to tell you a story.
And it really did. It happened here. We have a
new head of the company upstairs who's young, I mean
relations to him, he's very young. And I went up
to meet him for the first time and I didn't
know this, and he asked to have a meeting and
I walked up and the first thing I said to
(06:08):
him was, oh my god, you're so young. Was that
a mistake?
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Well, listen, was it a career limiting move? Probably not.
But I wouldn't make a reference to anyone's age or
gender or like you're really good for a woman, or.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Never said that. I've never ever said.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
That to those types of demographic.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, I was just surprised. I mean, he was really
actually genuine, but I could tell that he was uncomfortable
with it, and I regretted it right away, to the
point where I'm still talking about it. Are there challenges
for working for someone much younger?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
There are perceived challenges right there. I think older workers
get defensive and they think somehow that either it's unfair
that they're working for someone who has a lot less
experience than they do, and then they try to overcompensate,
or they just say or do stupid things. And I
think you just have to think of your boss as
(07:11):
your boss and not about age, and always present yourself
as someone who is current, who's technologically current, who is
not resistant to change, and who what you bring, which
is a lot of experience. How that can help your
boss and help the company, rather than bringing it from
a defensive posture like what do they know? I've been
(07:34):
around a lot longer. That's the sure way to get
an involuntary offer to lead the company.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
All right, let's go back to the toilet paper for
one second. How are you going to solve this problem
in your house? I think that you maybe should get something,
you know, some type of lock so nobody can change
it back and you can you can have your will
all the time.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
As with many other debates at home, I just give in.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
You just give up.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Just give up. It's the easiest way to keep peace.
And it just doesn't matter that much whether it's over
or under, but personally it really should be over.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Yeah, it seems to bug you. It seems to bug
you a lot, But that's great advice. I do the
exact same thing. I talk a big game, but I'm
a whimp at home, just like you. Greg gan Grande,
career advice expert. You can check them out at go
to Greg dot com. You can ask him a question
and maybe we'll use it on the air next week.
Thanks a lot, Greg, Thank you week. Talk to you
(08:37):
next week.
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