Yuppies inherit legacy from their forerunners

JAKARTA (JP): There are few comparisons to be drawn between young executives of the 1990s and their forerunners just 20 years ago.

Like father, like son? Hardly. Young executives today are on the whole better educated than their parents, have more opportunities to build a career and take home a much bigger paycheck. Their greater spending power translates into more avenues to unwind, including ones never imagined by their forefathers.

Senior executives told The Jakarta Post their views on today's young generation.

M.V. Adhiprabawa, president of PT Hewlett-Packard Finance Indonesia: The emergence of yuppies is a general phenomenon. They could be called big income spenders.

There are two kinds of yuppies -- the patient and impatient ones. The patient ones will get recognition in their work because they can immerse themselves in their job. The others are kutu loncat (fleas), who do not care about their career just as long as they get lots of money to have fun.

There are good things about this phenomenon. For one, we have more qualified people to work in the market. But the employers also have the challenge of giving them sufficient rewards because the yuppies usually hunt not only for a career, but also money.

There are yuppies who are qualified, but there are others who are not. The time will always come for people to see their qualifications. Those who are not qualified will be stuck in the same position.

Iwa Sewaka, president of PT Satelindo: Most of the yuppies I know graduated from colleges abroad. Some of them have a master's degree, some even have a higher degree. After living abroad for years, they are accustomed to life in a foreign country. We don't doubt their professionalism, but in Indonesia there is always the X factor.

They also have to learn about other things, especially about the culture. They have to be able to readapt themselves to the local culture.

And those who did not graduate from abroad have to work hard so that they can compete with graduates from foreign colleges.

Isakayoga, President of Surabaya Stock Exchange in Jakarta: The yuppies are the fruit of development. I see the phenomenon in big cities like Jakarta and Surabaya, but not in small towns.

I often meet them at formal occasions and I think they are professional enough.

I see there have been improvements in their professionalism compared to three or four years ago, when these young professionals seemed to spend more time having fun than on work. Now there is a balance. If you look around, you'll see the mushrooming cafes, full of young people. But you'll also see that the office buildings are full of these young professionals. I believe they are really professional, or else there wouldn't be such a huge number of them working in offices.

I also notice their heavy consumerism. They invest their money in things like cars and clothes for the "taste" of metropolitan life. There are not many of them who would invest in productive things, like in the capital market. I don't see their enthusiasm in this field. Yes, there are many young people who work on the stock exchange, but they are not investors. When they meet each other, they don't talk about the stock market. They talk about shopping, traveling, playing golf and such things.

I think this is only to be expected. They earn more than other people, and they spend more, too.

Many of the young urban professionals are not aware that they are actually part of this "yuppie" society. But there are also some others who consciously adopt the yuppie lifestyle even though they actually do not have the financial resources to do so.

Yuppy social concern is "seasonal". For example, before the fasting month or Christmas, they pay great attention to the less fortunate, the poor. But they don't evidence these concerns in their daily lives. For them, social activities are just a fashion, not a need.

The yuppie phenomenon in Surabaya and Jakarta is just the same. The only difference is that there are more yuppies here.

Christianto Wibisono, director of the Indonesian Business Data Center: Those young people, especially those who work in established companies, have to work hard, whether they like it or not. If they are capable, they will have good careers.

They like to enjoy themselves in their lifestyles. Well, they deserve it.

Meity Robot, president of Iwata travel agency: I have the impression that the yuppies, those young executives, live exclusively. They have their own group and don't mix with "ordinary people".

The term yuppy itself is not ours, so maybe the connotation is slightly different here from the dictionary definition.

I think there is nothing wrong if they want to have fun. We work hard and we need refreshment. Everybody wants to have fun and relax. But we have to strike a balance. Don't have too much fun.

And don't waste your money. Consumerism is dangerous. Okay, it's their money. They say they work hard to earn the money, so they have the right to spend it any way they like. The more you earn, the more you spend.

But I wonder if they really work hard. I know there are those who work really hard, but there are others who came into the money not because of their own efforts. Maybe their parents are rich, or maybe they got advantages from other people.

I hear that they like to take that drug, what is it called? Ecstasy? I don't think it is good. I also read in a magazine that they have orgies. How could they do such things? (icn/sim)