Before you tell your boss your age, read this cautionary tale

A careers expert shares a word of advice for Gen Z workers

By Amber O’Connor

On April 30, 2024

No two workplaces are the same. From office politics to the vending machine selection, there’s plenty of scope for variation. But one thing Gen Z workers ought to keep in mind, no matter where they find themselves, is whether they’ll benefit from sharing their age with colleagues – at least, that’s according to one careers expert.

While we might typically think of age discrimination as something that only impacts those at the older end of the scale, Shola West, now 24, a Gen Z Marketing Freelancer, Content Creator and Careers Advocate, is speaking out to warn other junior members of staff about the dangers of sharing their age at work. Her viral video, in which she recalls the time she was denied a promotion because of her age, has since been watched more than half a million times – and has amassed hundreds of comments from others sharing similar cautionary tales.

While age discrimination is illegal in the United Kingdom, unfortunately it does still occur – whether you’re an older or younger employee. Here’s how to deal with it if it’s happening to you…

“My boss refused to promote me because of my age”

Confident and self-assured, Shola West, was 20 when sharing her age with her employer backfired. When approaching her boss to ask for a pay rise, she did everything by the book. West discussed her approach with her mentors and followed their advice, creating a spreadsheet of her achievements, before arranging the formal sit-down. She was prepared – but not for having her age weaponised against her.

“She [my boss] was just like, ‘At the end of the day when I was your age, I had way less money than you, and I survived,” West claims, when explaining why her request was rejected. “She couldn’t fathom that she could give me any more despite inflation.”

West, understandably, was left feeling upset and confused. She did approach HR, but the issue was never resolved. The issue then contributed to her decision to leave her job, she says.

“I never did get a promotion. I never did get a pay rise in that team. So, I then ended up moving companies because it wasn’t being sorted out, and I felt like I had no tangible feedback. I think that is what was more hurtful at that age,” West tells Cosmopolitan. In her video, she explains that she felt other microaggressions were at play during her conversation with her boss, too.

She tells us: “It’s different when your manager is saying to you that you’re not quite ready yet, but they then give you the opportunity to explain what you’ve done and what they need from you to hit these goals and objectives. [They should say ]‘I’m going to support you in getting there’. But she didn’t even create that space to give me the opportunity.”

Frustratingly, West is not alone. She has heard a multitude of stories from other workers with their own negative experience relating to age. It’s a topic that really resonates when she shares career advice through her Instagram and on TikTok as @allthingsmediasis.

In one comment under her earlier mentioned viral video, one worker revealed: “My old boss did this to me! From my very first day there he always pointed out how much he doubted my ability to succeed because of my age.”

A second penned: “When I got a pay rise one of my colleagues was furious. She complained to the whole office that a 19-year-old shouldn’t be paid the same as her (37).” Elsewhere, another wrote: “I left my job after being told, ‘It’s funny that you want more money because you’re so young,’” and someone else commented: “As a manager at 24, jealousy is real, especially in the corporate world.”

This piece was republished from Cosmopolitan.