The 2024 CASN selection has once again recorded a fantastic number of\nregistrants. Millions of young people, mostly dominated by Gen Z, are\nwilling to jostle virtually to compete for a single civil servant\nappointment decree. However, behind the hustle and enthusiasm, there is\na silent and worrying phenomenon: the \u201cRevolving Door\u201d or rotating door\nwithin our bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
This term usually refers to the movement of high-ranking officials to\nthe private sector. However, today, this \u201crotating door\u201d occurs at the\nbasic talent level. Many competent young people enter with high\nexpectations, but soon choose to rotate out.<\/p>\n
They dare to make extreme decisions: resigning just months or years\nafter being accepted. The question is, why does the bureaucracy, now\narmed with modern regulations, fail to retain the people it needs\nmost?<\/p>\n
Professional Prison<\/p>\n
In terms of regulations, the government has actually responded to\nthis challenge through Law No.\u00a020 of 2023 on Civil Servants. This law\nbrings a new paradigm, namely the transition from mere personnel\nadministration to Human Capital Management. Its promises are very\nenticing: more agile and meritocratic career development.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, in the field, the good intentions of this regulation\noften clash with the thick wall of organisational culture. Although the\nGovernment Regulation on ASN Management regulates promotion patterns in\nsuch a way, the practice is often still shackled by rigid seniority\nconventions.<\/p>\n
Quoting the Self-Determination Theory from psychology experts Edward\nDeci and Richard Ryan, humans need three things to stay motivated:\nautonomy, competence, and relatedness. The problem is that our\nbureaucracy often unconsciously \u201ckills\u201d that autonomy through monotonous\nadministrative routines. For talents with high achievement orientation,\na challenge-free work system is not a comfort zone, but a professional\nprison.<\/p>\n
Not Just Salary<\/p>\n
It is often heard that young people today are not resilient and only\nchase material abundance. However, if we examine it, many of those who\n\u201cmigrate\u201d from the bureaucracy actually choose to work in SOEs or\nstartups with far more brutal work pressure and overtime hours.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon aligns with Victor Vroom\u2019s Expectancy Theory. A\nperson is willing to work hard as long as there is a clear correlation\nbetween effort, performance, and reward. In the private sector, the\nreward and punishment system runs mathematically and measurably.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in the bureaucracy, the performance appraisal system often\nevaporates into mere formalities that appear comprehensive on paper but\nare empty in execution. When the sweat of high-performing employees is\nequated in value with those who merely \u201ccome, sit, and stay silent\u201d, the\nprofessional pride of top talents is wounded. They prefer to tire\nthemselves creating in places that value capacity, rather than ageing in\nstagnant stability.<\/p>\n
Mentor Crisis and Cultural Clash<\/p>\n
Another crucial trigger of this exodus is the failure of\nLeader-Member Exchange (LMX), or the poor quality of relationships\nbetween superiors and subordinates. Our bureaucracy is still very thick\nwith top-down leadership styles. The Gen Z character, which thirsts for\ntransparency, dialogue, and clear goals, often clashes hard with this\nhierarchy.<\/p>\n
Many leaders demand new staff to immediately think tactically like\nveterans of decades, but leave them groping without adequate mentoring\nor coaching. Even more ironically, when innovative aspirations emerge,\nthey are often labelled as \u201cinsubordination\u201d against the seniority\ncaste. As a result, the initial burning motivation for public service\nplummets.<\/p>\n
Closing the Revolving Door<\/p>\n
Indonesia is not short of smart people. The always overflowing LPDP\nscholarship queue every year is proof. However, there is a chronic\nmismatch when these golden talents return and enter the system. This\ntalent leakage is an extraordinary loss of national investment. We are\npursuing the Golden Indonesia 2045 vision, but how can it be achieved if\nthe bureaucratic machine keeps losing its \u201cbest parts\u201d?<\/p>\n
Retaining top talents can no longer rely solely on threats of\nhundreds of millions in fines or blacklist sanctions for those who\nresign. The solution must touch the cultural and structural roots.\nAgencies must create an ecosystem that values ideas and opens measured\nexperimentation spaces.<\/p>\n
In addition, transparent career paths, including accelerating the\nimplementation of a fair single salary system, become a crucial\nfoundation. At the same time, bureaucratic leaders must urge themselves\nto transform into coaches, not just stamp-holding foremen.<\/p>\n
The bureaucracy should no longer be just a shelter for those seeking\nstatic comfort. It must become a grand stage for those bold enough to\nbring change. If we fail to calibrate this, prepare to see our\nbureaucratic door continue to rotate, releasing the nation\u2019s best\ntalents, one by one, to other sectors that more humanely value their\ncompetencies.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-revolving-door-of-bureaucracy-and-the-flight-of-young-talent-1774266675", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }