In Indonesia, many job seekers begin to face career barriers not because of a lack of skills, but because of their age. It is still common to find job vacancies that set a maximum age limit of 25–30 years.
It’s called ageism.
What is ageism? Ageism in Indonesia professional world, wrapped up in the words “more adaptive” or “energetic”.
According to amp.dw.com, Telisa Felianty, an economist from the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at the University of Indonesia, age discrimination is largely based on assumptions. Many companies still equate age with productivity and cost efficiency.
Consequently, there’s a stigma that older workers are a burden to the company.
Sometimes it’s the ‘young workers as a fast learner than older workers’ discussions when in fact adaptability is determined by mindset and not age. Or the ‘fresh graduate lack of experience’ and ‘mid-career too much experience’ discussions that both can be subject to ageism.
This is a serious issue because ageism causes ‘experienced talent’ to be eliminated more quickly. regardless of their actual performance or expertise.
Why?
When senior employees are pushed out or overlooked, companies will face a high turnover rates as roles are repeatedly filled with less experienced workers (young workers).
This will create a knowledge gap and younger generation in overtime will experience burnout. Their responsibilities will shift, pressure, workload, and expectations will increase.
That is why Age 30+ Workers should not be considered “too old”. They are in a perfect age for a strong problem-solving skills, industry experience, and better decision-making abilities.
