When the
executive in the adjacent office returns from a two-week vacation
minus any bags under his eyes or deep lines around his mouth,
forget what he tells you about a certain Caribbean resort. Chances
are, he has been under the knife.
Cosmetic
surgery, botox and other de-aging skin treatments are becoming
de rigueur for baby-boomer executives of both sexes who fear being
judged as over the hill. For many, including some top CEOs who
haven't yet gone public, plastic surgery is the next step in their
rigorous fitness and beauty regimens that include several hours
a week at the gym, expensive personal trainers and diet consultants,
and hair treatments.
"I
can't tell you the number of men I know who no longer are gray
or who have covered bald spots with hair transplants," says
Pat Cook, president of Cook & Company, a Bronxville, N.Y.,
executive-search firm.
In addition
to vanity, these executives are driven by job security. They believe
that looking older in business now means looking vulnerable, not
wise and experienced, as might have been the case in the past.
So many 50 something managers have suffered layoffs and early
retirement that survivors in this age bracket feel pressured to
look and act as young as possible to hang onto their posts. And
even 45-year-olds who are unemployed in today's tight market worry
that wrinkles will cut them out of the running.
They ignore
the financial expense (work on eyelids costs $3,000 to $6,000
and facelifts, $15,000 to $25,000) and the medical risks (Novelist
Olivia Goldsmith died last month at the age of 54 during a chin-tuck
operation).
A recent
survey of senior executives by ExcuNet, a networking and job-search
service, found that 82% consider age bias a "serious problem,"
up from 78% three years ago. And 94% of these respondents, who
were mostly in their 40s and 50s, said they thought age hade cost
them a shot at a particular job.
"Ageism
is unfortunate but it exists, and if you aren't looking good,
you aren't a player, especially now when so many companies are
run my younger executives," says Rick Miners, president of
Flex Corp Systems, a New York business-process out sourcing company.
"It isn't only women waiting for appointments with cosmetic
surgeons, it's a lot of men, too, and not just senior executives
but middle managers who want to stay competitive."
Dr. Sherrell
Aston, A New York plastic surgeon, says 17% of his patients undergoing
eyelid surgery and about 11% choosing facelifts are male, double
the percentage of 10 years ago. More people of both genders are
choosing cosmetic surgery. Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital,
the nation's largest cosmetic surgery hospital where Dr. Aston
is chairman of the plastic-surgery department, had a 20% increase
in cosmetic surgery cases in 2002 over the previous year.
"We
see a lot of high-placed executives from every industry who wants
to look better for themselves but also want to look vigorous and
up to their jobs," he says.
It isn't
something most executives want to discuss publicly, however. A
56-year-old public relations manager at a New Jersey technology
company, who had his lower eyelids done last April, says he was
delighted when colleagues told him he looked more rested than
they had ever seen him. But he didn't counter their belief that
he had just returned from a cruise. "I didn't want to call
attention to my age by saying I needed this to look younger,"
he says. But his new look has given him more confidence at work,
prompting him to volunteer for new projects, he adds.
Even more
executives are choosing less expensive and less invasive treatments,
such as botox injections, which average several hundred dollars
per session. Dr. Diana Bihova, a New York dermatologist, says
40% of her patients seek botox and other cosmetic treatments,
including chemical peels and collagen, are now men. "A lot
of them tell me they spend hours at the gym each week and want
a face to match their fit body," she says, " Men don't
have the advantage of using makeup, but they age better than women
because their skin is thicker and they usually shave, which is
rejuvenating."
A major focus
for both sexes is removing frown lines between the brows or on
the forehead. One woman claimed that losing her worried look helped
her land a new job.
Looking younger,
however, isn’t the most crucial way to counter ageism on
the job. Managers who don’t repeatedly rejuvenate their thinking
-- failing to stay informed about current events and popular culture
-- inevitably date themselves and limit their chances to advance.
Jeri Sedlar,
a career coach who with Mr. Miners wrote "Don't Retire, Rewire,"
has had skin rejuvenating treatments but also keeps mentally young
by reading a lot and conversing with people in different professions.
When she recently called on a younger client in the beauty industry,
she wore a leather skirt rather than a conservative suit.
Ms.
Cook, the executive coach, says, "It's a lot less important
how old someone is than whether they are young in attitude. I
don’t care if someone is 55, but I care a lot if he is passionate,
enthusiastic and in touch with what is happening in the world."
