Discrimination in the workplace?

They can probably also vouch for my youthfulness, and can probably say things about the way I dress, the way I can act, and the manner in which I might sometimes do things, but the bottom line is that in the end, the job is done, and done in a satisfactory manner, if not above and beyond.

All this being said, I'm beginning to see more discrimination in the workplace, and most importantly, in the case of it being directed at me.

Maybe it's my age, or perhaps it's the fact that I still enjoy wearing t-shirts and jeans to work every day that makes people think I'm younger than I really am, but for some reason, people in the workplace seem to feel like they can treat me like I don't know what the fuck I'm doing there in the first place. What this called, is simply ageism, and it is a legitimate form of discrimination.

The current assignment I'm on, I've been questioned on whether or not I knew how to work off of a server, if I've ever seen a piece of Adobe software that didn't start with letters instead of numbers, and once, the audacity to think that I wasn't old enough to have ever used QuarkXPress. Sometimes, they might've been able to be misconstrued as jokes, but sometimes, I'm just not so sure.

My favorites are when everyone finds it appropriate to talk about their long and extensive number of years in the field they've been doing graphic design, or doing proofing, or doing art direction to me, as if I'm supposed to be impressed by it or something.

Frankly, I don't have the patience to do anything for longer than two weeks, let alone two years and beyond, and my freelance lifestyle is a choice made to accomodate the desire to move about and test various waters before truly settling down in the working world.

The way I see it, number-dropping the amount of years one has on me serves no purpose to the discussion other than the fact that someone half your age, is already on the same pleateau if not higher than them. It also shows me a sign of insecurity to necessitate in informing me of how much less experience that I have than one does, and doesn't immediately make me respect anyone more than the people that refills the coffee, to the cleaning crew who empties out the trash cans at the end of the day. Extensive years of experience makes me see people as jaded and bitter with their lives, especially those who see fit to remind people of it. In the end, it doesn't change anything, and I honestly don't care how much experience someone has at whatever they do. I don't drop that I've got ten years in the field, and that I've got plenty of newspaper, magazine, print, corporate, and retail experience, because it's not that important in daily workload.

Bottom line is, because it's late, and I'm growing sleepy, is that I'm tired of the attitude and the talking down to I get from the rest of the working world. Whether or not it's because of my age, or some other factor, there is no reason for people to treat me any differently than they would someone twenty years older and dressing in suits on a daily basis, because in the end, I'm the one who dictates whether or not their projects go out the door or not.

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All articles on these pages were all written by Danny Hong, unless otherwise credited.