Should the Workers Over 50 Replaced by Younger Workers?

Recently, employers have faced issues about their business development such as how to improve their organization to become more and more competitive. Some people argue that they should make a fundamental decision to replace employees who are over 50, which means hiring young workers. The other believes that it might not be necessary. I would argue that workers over 50 should not be replaced by younger workers.

It is true that there are some benefits to recruit younger staff. Firstly, young employees could be a good partner. They have new ideas, and they are also advanced in using high technology. For example, in a government office, such as DKI Jakarta hires many young people to achieve their targets. Some of them bear the responsible for maintaining data and information in Smart City Center. Moreover, indeed, they are more energetic, in other words, they are faster than older ones.

However, it may not be clear that having talented employees who are below 50 years old would be more effective and efficient. In fact, giving opportunity for those who have ample experience would be more reasonable and effective. If we compare with the younger generation, people who are mature workers have more experience than young staff. We don’t need more effort to improve their knowledge or skills. For instance, people who are working as a Scientists or Researchers have been identified over 50 years old.  In addition, based on the experience that they have, older employees could be a resource person for the companies. They can act as a mentor guiding and training the younger workers, so the employers may not be hired an expert to do this job.

Following that, they are also capable at making decisions. For example, in an emergency, the ability to take a crucial decision belongs to the employees who are more experienced.

To conclude, employers should think twice about recruiting young workers to replace employees who are over 50. They should give chances to older workers to maintain their business development.

Bali, 28 April 2017

Welhelmus Poek