cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/14816537
I’m 43 years old but apparently I have a baby face, good hair for my age and everyone believes I’m in my mid 20s, even though I already have some gray hairs nobody seems to notice (so far).
I started the lie: first time I started my last job at a hospital immediately after my bachelor and told my new coworkers my real age (38 at the time) they started judging me: why are you not married, why don’t you have children, what have you done in the last 20 years.
The way these women asked was accusatory, like I’m a failure for being almost 40 and not having children or being single. At that moment I decided next time somebody at the workplace asks me for my age, to blatantly and shamelessly lie: I’m 25, leave me alone.
Since that bad experience I’ve worked at 2 other hospitals and my lie has always helped: patients and coworkers believe I’m 25 because as said I look like it, don’t pester me about children or marriage and while my current coworkers are gossips and need drama to live, they don’t push my buttons because I don’t give them any ammunition. It’s tolerable.
Note that I didn’t lie in my application and accounting and management at my workplace know very well my real age, but my coworkers and direct manager are oblivious to it: On my first day I just told them I’m 25 and they didn’t question it.
Now, I have the body of a 43 year old, meaning I don’t lift heavy patients like a 25 year old and sometimes I come home with back pain. I don’t know if I’d get better assignments if I’m sincere about my age (I’d like that, but is it realistic?). I just don’t want to get to 65 with a broken back. I don’t want drama either, just to work and go home.
I lie to protect myself.
If I need to change this, why and how?
I promise you that some percentage of the people you’ve lied to are fully aware that you’re lying. Nobody passes that well for 20 years younger.
I’m 39 and my teenage coworkers at McDonald’s were surprised that I wasn’t just 19 or 20. To be fair, though, I have to wear a hat and it covers most of my gray hair. And they’re also teenagers.
Teenagers are absolute idiots. Their changing bodies seemingly take away energy from their brains. I got a dog last year and they grow into puberty after 9 months. We had been doing puppy training, which was going great, but after 9 months she suddenly seemed to have forgotten everything she learned and just did everything she wasn’t supposed to. Same thing goes for humans, but it’s a longer timespan, so the transition is smoother.
I think it’s plausible when you account for the fact that some people look significantly older than their age. So this person in reality might look like an average 33 year old, but claiming 25 is still believable as some 25 year olds look like they are 33 (or older even).
Of course, looking like a person that has prematurely aged is not something I’d go out of my way to claim either.
Oh I’m fully aware I did not age well.
My homie. If you’re doing nursing, you’re retiring with a bad back. Probably knees too. Doing patient care is hell on your body, no matter how light you go now.
So, yeah, see if you can get a doctor to recommend light duty to preserve what you have left, and the next time someone asks your age, tell them whatever because nobody is actually going to take it easy on you until you’re damn near retirement anyway.
I do get it, coworkers can be rude and nosey AF. I’ve had some like that, too. But lying about your age is not the way to handle it. Keep them on a low information diet. It’s perfectly OK to say “that’s really none of your business” or “l prefer not to discuss my personal life at work.”
If they keep pushing the issue, get firm with them and ask if they really want to get HR involved? (Don’t involve HR if at all possible. Mentioning it should be enough.)
To get out if the mess of this lie, just start telling the truth. Laugh it off, you thought it was cute/funny/flattering that people thought you were so young.
Most nosey/rude coworkers just want to make sure you’re “ok” and “not some kind of weirdo”. It’s very shitty and obnoxious of them, but you don’t handle it by, well… being a bit of a weirdo and acting like you’re over 10 years younger.
It is perfectly okay to say those things, as well as to threaten escalation, but it won’t make you any friends and probably will result in a hostile work environment … Which is fine, but should be anticipated if taking this approach.
I have no comment on the second half of this response.
It’s OK to make friends at work, but it’s not the primary reason people are there. And mistaking coworkers for friends-by-default can get you into even worse problems than being the unfriendly/private person. Coworkers who ask lots of probing questions often gossip. They use the gathered info against you in order to make themselves look better by comparison. OP just wants to be left alone. Playing reindeer games and engaging in mandatory fun is not a path forward for everyone. Especially those with actual skills beyond kissing butt. I have done well in my career minding my own business and asking others to do the same. You don’t have to throw down a flaming spear to do this. You do it nicely but firmly. It’s standing up for yourself.
coworkers can be rude and nosey AF. I’ve had some like that, too. But lying about your age is not the way to handle it.
I agree. It would be much better to lie about their questions about being single with no kids…
“My family died in a horrible accident while I watched helplessly. I work this shit job so I don’t have to sit at home thinking about it.”
That’s guaranteed to shut them the fuck up and keep them from asking any more nosy questions.
I guess it doesn’t help you to say it now, but this was a terrible way to deal with a slight nuisance from what has to be a small group of stupid people. This has the potential to cause far greater intrusion and judgement from your coworkers than your lack of marriage and kids ever would have done, and this especially with a crowd that love gossip. You’ve potentially handed them the juiciest gossip they’ll likely ever get and given how dull the workplace can be, they’ll be milking it for years if they find out.
I think you’re pretty much in it for the long haul now, which will take work to maintain, and also depending on how long you work at this place with these guys, you better hope your unusually youthful appearance stays at a consistent 18 years behind your real age and doesn’t hit a sudden inflection point where it suddenly all catches up because that’ll be tough to account for.
If I need to change this, why and how?
Why:
You’re lying to your coworkers, and while you think you can pass for 25, you said you’ve been using it for 3 jobs now and have graying hair?
Like, lots of older guys drastically overestimate how young they still look, and people go along with it because why have the awkward conversation calling out an obvious lie?
How:
Just stop lying to everyone?
Like if you meant how to do that without everyone thinking negative things…
You shouldn’t have told people you’re almost 20 years older than you told them.
They’re going to doubt everything you tell them, and in a medical setting that’s a big deal.
You can try to keep pretending, but at some point it’ll come out, if they don’t already all know.
I’ve been graying since 23yo to be fair
Same, it’s been very slow, but it started then
It was slow initially, then it picked up a lot in the last ~5-6 years. My beard is unequivocally gray colored at this point, and my sideburns are graying.
Coincidentally, I had my first son around that time…
I’m confused by your “why” - why should they be honest about their age? Why is it anyone else’s business?
He should just not answer the question.
If I catch someone in just one lie, my estime of them usually plummets and I question most things they say afterwards. Not to mention lying about something obvious kind of makes you look schizophrenic.
That is a very fair perspective, but it can be difficult to do in a gossipy setting. Declining to answer or deflecting would be the approach I’d suggest to anyone who isn’t comfortable giving their age.
But, there are very legitimate reasons to avoid disclosing your age as people have stereotypes and preconceptions that you may want to avoid.
Edit to add:
As I ponder, I’m starting to agree more that it’s creepy to tell a bald-faced lie like that. But at one of my jobs, I was the youngest developer (but had a full beard) when it was revealed how young I was there were a few coworkers that just stopped taking my opinions seriously. I stand by refusing to disclose your age, but I do agree that outright lying is a bad option.
Bro is saying he’s 20 years younger than he is…
He’s not passing for 25.
Lots of middle age guys lie about their age, very very few are cocky enough to lie by this large of amount. And the amount that actually looked 25 at 43 is statistically zero.
Like, yeah, Paul Rudd is real person, but we know who Paul Rudd is because he’s the exception.
He could have easily just said “I don’t want to say”. But now he probably has a reputation as the creepy dude who thinks he looks 25.
I’m not saying that’s right, I’m saying that’s most likely what’s happening.
He said he even told his direct supervisor he was 25, date of birth is pretty basic information. A direct supervisor in a medical field is eventually going to see it on a form somewhere if they haven’t already
Even OPs supposed reason for doing this, could just be solved by saying “I don’t want to talk about it” to those questions.
So it doesn’t seem presumptuous to think he might not be that great with social interactions and cues.
He might just be another middle age dude that thinks people are falling for his obvious lies about his age.
It’s not exactly a rare thing like I said, the only rare thing is the balls to go 20 years younger.
Yea, but my question is why does this actually matter. How old your coworkers are is their private information that they can share with you if they wish. At my current company most of the more senior employees are millenials but we do have some Gen Xers that have faced open age discrimination at other jobs and, well, it doesn’t fucking matter as long as you can do the job. Women, especially, tend to get a lot of shit if they’re older and don’t have children or, God forbid, aren’t married - so I can absolutely understand why you’d want to dodge that judgment.
You aren’t entitled to any private information about your coworkers, and that’s a good thing. I am quite confused why this is important because it’s not relevant to the extremely limited relationship you’re forming as coworkers.
Yea, but my question is why does this actually matter
Because coworkers need to trust each other, especially in healthcare.
You aren’t entitled to any private information about your coworkers
Literally no one has said differently.
It’s just ironic a random 25 year old would have the maturity to just decline to answer if they didn’t want to.
OP is 43 years old and can’t handle that, so instead they claim to be 20 years younger, which very few people are probably falling for.
Yea, okay, especially the sibling response has made me reconsider. Lying about your age seems feels a lot more cringey then just deflecting and refusing to answer.
You say you didn’t give them ammunition, but IMO you’ve done exactly that by giving them this weird “power” to make you feel like you should hide your true age or apologize for anything.
“Why aren’t you married?” “I haven’t met anybody worth making that kind of commitment to.”
“Why didn’t you have kids?” “Because I don’t want any (at this point).”
Live your life according to your own schedule and speak your actual truth.
Age is a protected class In the US. Report anyone who asks your age to HR. IDK, sounds good on paper, but who the hell would do that?
Only being old is a protected class.
You need to get some gray hair dye. Apply only a little, where people’s hair mostly starts to go grey, and then come in to one of your shifts. When the first person comments on it, act surprised and say “the witches curse was real! She said I would lost 13 years for encroaching on her house in the woods!” This way, you will get even more sympathy for being older. Your youth was stolen from you.
… hummmm. So I’m NOT doing enough which blaming…
I like this one.
The former coworkers who pestered you are jerks. Not everyone will react like that.
I don’t understand why you have to answer at all when someone asks your age, but find it hilarious that you just keep resetting to 25 every year. How do they keep believing it? Do you change jobs every year? Why do you care if someone judges your lifestyle if it’s what you want?
You aren’t going to break doing heavy lifting at 43. If you feel it’s damaging you, that’s separate from your age.
This whole question is so funny - I do think people see what they expect, not what is. I had 2 kids when young then 2 more when older, and it was so funny - people who only saw me with my younger set thought I was much younger than I am. People who knew me from the first set thought I was about my age. People who saw me with all of them thought I was a grandma and older than I am.
Learn to laugh in people’s faces.
“Why aren’t you married?”
Laugh and walk away saying “rude”
I got double-carded at concerts until I grew facial hair. I wasn’t even 21 yet so idk what their deal was. Anyway, try to grow a beard and mustache, that helped me
Embrace it, make the most of it. Anyone else’s criticism of you solely based on your age is frankly irrelevant IMO, and not worth even thinking about…
Lying about your age could be a problem in certain scenarios, like say some kind of medical situation, or even if a coworker expresses romantic interest with the belief that your age is something completely different. It’s not ideal, but I would probably suggest to tread carefully with it.
Don’t know the dynamics of your work assignment - however if you trust your manager it might be worth having a quick conversation about it to see if you can at least be put onto tasks that take your body’s condition into consideration.
Setup an accident that gets you sick or spills something on you, and oh no turns out it accelerates aging!
Now your body is actually 43 even though you’re 25.
Do you get carded at bars often? I looked younger than I was and was carded fairly often til I was about 30. Even then, since around 34 or so I don’t think I’ve been carded at all
