Editor’s Note:
This article was originally written during the political tensions surrounding the 1999 East Timor crisis. While the historical references reflect that period, the article has been updated for today’s readers. Its central message—that international events can influence workplace relationships and that effective cross-cultural leadership is essential—remains just as relevant in today’s global business environment.
Major international events can sometimes spill over into the workplace. Political conflicts, diplomatic disputes, trade disagreements, social media campaigns, or international crises may create strong emotions among employees from different countries. Multinational companies operating in Indonesia occasionally find themselves managing teams whose members hold very different perspectives on these events.
Fortunately, these situations need not damage working relationships. The key is understanding that cultural differences influence not only how people communicate, but also how they interpret world events and express deeply held beliefs.
Cross-cultural understanding is an ongoing learning process. Both expatriates and Indonesian employees benefit from making an effort to understand each other’s viewpoints. However, discussions about politics, national identity, religion or international affairs can quickly shift from informative conversations to emotional disagreements. The challenge for management is maintaining a respectful workplace while preserving productive working relationships.
There are several approaches that organizations can adopt, depending on the maturity of the relationships within the company.
The first is found in offices where mixed-nationality leadership teams have worked together for many years. These managers often know each other well enough to discuss sensitive issues openly without damaging their relationships. Even then, difficult conversations are generally more productive when held privately rather than in front of subordinate staff, where emotions may become more visible and others may feel pressured to take sides.
A second situation occurs in organizations where expatriate managers have been established for some time and relationships are generally positive.
One common response is to prohibit political discussions altogether, emphasizing that the workplace should remain focused on business and professional conduct.
While this approach may reduce conflict in the short term, it can also unintentionally create greater distance between Indonesian and international employees by limiting opportunities to better understand one another.
One of the cornerstones of a successful multinational workplace is developing what might be called a “third corporate culture”—a shared organizational culture built on mutual respect, trust and understanding that transcends national differences. Policies that discourage respectful dialogue may preserve temporary harmony but do little to strengthen long-term relationships.
A more productive approach is to acknowledge that employees may have different opinions on international events while reinforcing the company’s expectations for respectful behaviour.
This can be achieved through written policies, leadership communication, or staff meetings that emphasize the organization’s commitment to professionalism, inclusion and mutual respect. Leaders should reassure employees that although opinions may differ, the strength of the workplace lies in maintaining positive relationships and working toward common goals.
A third—and often more challenging—situation occurs when organizations bring in large numbers of expatriate staff with limited international experience. This can occur across many industries today, including manufacturing, technology, logistics, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, financial services and energy.
Employees who are new to Indonesia may not immediately recognize two important realities.
First, differences in perspective are perfectly natural between people raised in different cultures.
Second, understanding when and how to express those opinions is just as important as the opinions themselves.
People from many Western countries often feel comfortable expressing strong personal views and engaging in open debate. Indonesians may hold equally strong opinions, but are generally more likely to prioritize maintaining harmonious relationships, especially in the workplace.
These differing communication styles can easily create misunderstandings.
To many expatriates, a heated discussion may simply be an energetic exchange of ideas that is quickly forgotten. To many Indonesian employees, however, public disagreement can leave lasting damage to working relationships and trust.
Similarly, employees from cultures that encourage debate may unintentionally dominate discussions through confidence and persuasive argument. Indonesian colleagues, whose workplace culture often places greater emphasis on respect, consensus and preserving harmony, may choose not to respond openly—even when they strongly disagree.
For international managers, recognizing these different communication preferences is critical.
Ultimately, management’s goal should be to build a workplace where professional relationships are stronger than temporary political disagreements or international events. Employees may never share identical views on world affairs, but they can still work together effectively when there is mutual respect, cultural understanding and a shared commitment to the success of the organization.
Strong organizations are built not by eliminating differences, but by creating an environment where those differences can exist without undermining trust, teamwork or collaboration.
This article was originally contributed by George B. Whitfield III during his time as a Technical Advisor with Executive Orientation Services. It has been updated for today’s readers while preserving the original concepts and insights.
