In the
American business and corporate world, a career ender is an employee who is in the final stage of his
professional career, generally due to his age.
The term frequently has a negative connotation. The implication is that the employee is less interested in career growth than another employee, or that they
may be less motivated or energetic. This term frequently is used when evaluating a potential
new hire. In certain roles, an ideal fit will be an employee who will be willing to
go above-and-beyond, challenge conventions, and easily adapt to changing conditions. Additionally, in many
professional fields, the cost of each hire is very
high, and the expectation is that the employee will grow and be able to provide much more value over time. A career ender, to contrast, might be reluctant to take on additional risk, and might instead be looking for a static, stable, "cushy" position until his eventual retirement.
In many situations, being a career ender isn't necessarily unacceptable, and many organizations have many career enders. Such an individual might be able to benefit the organization in many ways through his experience
alone.
Many
people view the label career ender as a form of age discrimination, which is usually illegal in the United States. Therefore, in most institutional and corporate environments, this term is more likely to be encountered behind closed doors, or at smaller firms (such as startups) more likely to engage in illegal discrimination.
