In their thought-provoking commentary, Murphy and DeNisi (2021) stated the available evidence provides little support for the proposition that age stereotypes substantially affect high-stakes decisions made about individuals in organizations (p. 1). Their narrow literature focus could leave the impression that age stereotypes are not complicit in actual personnel decisions. We respectfully disagree and contend there is ample evidence that a host of ageist beliefs operating at the societal, organizational, and individual levels are instrumental in actual workplace ageism (i.e., stereotyping, prejudice, or discrimination; Finkelstein et al., 2018), including personnel decisions. Moreover, the detrimental impact extends beyond the workplace.

The United Nations identified decent work and economic growth as a sustainable development goal for 2030. Decent work is a term that sums up aspirations for people in their working lives. One of the factors that influences the achievement of decent work is aging. This article examines how aspects of aging and organizational factors affect work ability across the lifespan and throughout one's work career. Additionally, the critical issue of worker physical mobility was also addressed as a practical limitation to functional aging. Through our investigation, we identified gaps in the literature where research and interventions should be promoted. These include early disability studies; population dashboards of workers' health metrics; intervention and cost effectiveness in health promotion and prevention of early functional aging at work; policies for tailoring demands to individual needs and abilities; and inequities of social protection for aging workers.