Voicing experiences of ageist nonrecognition in performance appraisal interaction: Complexities in constructing stories that counteract organisational ignorance

Abstract

A growing line of research aims to give voice to employees’ experiences of ageism at work. This article complements this body of research by demonstrating how voicing experiences of ageism, and hence counteracting organisational ignorance towards ageism, can be a complex discursive endeavour. Ageist experiences can be based on subtle interactional exchanges at the workplace, including other workers’ nonrecognition (e.g. ostracism). We suggest that experiences of nonrecognition can be a source of what we call interactionally troublesome exchanges (ITEs), that is, instances of social interaction that a worker experiences as problematic, although the social violations of the interaction partner may be difficult to report to others (e.g. supervisors) who lack the same first-hand experience. We argue that the difficulties of reporting ageist nonrecognition are anchored in cultural and institutional expectations that undermine the organisational ‘tellability’ of stories that aim to describe colleagues’ subtle acts and omissions in daily workplace encounters.