Punctuality in Indonesia and the dire consequences of being late
What I like about Indonesia: Flexible with time and no one cares if there are last minute changes.
What I don’t like about Indonesia: Flexible with time and no one cares if there are last minute changes.
One of the most essential elements of Indonesian culture is time and how time is treated. Unfortunately, this could also be a surprising challenge for many coming from abroad or for those repatriating to Indonesia. It takes a lot of adaptation and patience or “getting used to” to tolerate this element; it is essentially like learning a new language. Growing up, the phrase “time is money” and “time is of the essence” has been regularly hammered at me and being late was simply unacceptable and disrespectful.
In Indonesia, it is not unusual to hear stories and complaints from people who have waited hours for someone to show up. Whether it’s a business meeting, a doctor to his patients, a job interview, or a chat at a nearby cafe, you may find yourself waiting for what seems like forever. You may also be familiar with plans being canceled at the last minute, or people changing the plan as they go along, sometimes for no good reason.
Jam Karet and Ngaret
So what’s so different? After all, we are still on the same Earth and time is a universal language. Yes, in Indonesia there are still 60 minutes in an hour, and there are 24 hours in a day, and 7 days are still 7 days regardless, but the problems are not in numbers, but in perception.
A common saying in Indonesia is “Jam karet”. Jam Karet or ngaret is a popular phrase, an excuse, a claim, an idea and an explanation used when someone is late. “Jam Karet” and the literal translation is rubber clock, implies that the hour or minute hand of the clock can be twisted and manipulated so that every time it arrives it is always correct. But the most important thing is that, just like a piece of rubber, it is flexible. Being late has become so prevalent, to the point that a unique term has been created to justify it.
power distance
The reality is that not everyone is born equal in Indonesia. He may be late for meetings and appointments simply because he is higher up the chain of command than others. Where you are on the corporate ladder matters, and could give you a get out of meetings free card and no one will challenge you. The meeting starts when the head honcho says it starts, whether they’re late or not. In some cases, time is not perceived at all. But the chain of command goes beyond the workplace: universities, schools, doctor’s appointments also apply the concept of power distance. Professors can be late for college lectures simply because they are the most important person in the room. Teachers may be absent and no student dares to question or challenge, because it may tarnish her relationship with the teacher.
But power is only one piece of the puzzle. After all, there are times when power is divided equally between everyone, like a group of friends, for example. No friend has more power than the other. This brings another trait to the picture: collectivism.
The collectivist society
Indonesia’s collectivist society means that the opinion of the group matters most and if everyone in the group is unfazed by people who are late, then that becomes the status quo. Indonesia’s clicky and communal communication system dates back to the days of “Kampung” (village), where everyone relied on force as a group to survive.
Individuals are friendly to the group, hoping that the group will take care of them in return. This is most common in social situations in Indonesia, where judging someone for being late is frowned upon and explicit communication is considered antagonistic behavior. Thus, keeping quiet when someone is late is a defense mechanism, because sometimes we are the ones who are late or have to cancel at the last minute. Blaming someone, calling them for being late is a quick way to lose friends/popularity among your social circle and it could turn against you. It’s a double-edged sword that could work in your favor (you may be the one who has to make changes at the last minute and want others to forgive you), but it can work against you, especially if you’re the one waiting. .
Understanding these two important concepts and opening a door that allows us to see how time is perceived.
There are no winners or losers when it comes to tardiness, because everyone loses, and perhaps the biggest misconception about punctuality is that it’s a two-way street. It’s easy to forget that there’s a loser and when we cancel something at the last moment, we indirectly cause a domino effect. Some people cancel last minute or show up late, simply because it doesn’t affect them personally and therefore it won’t affect others as well, but in reality, it’s not the case.
Everything requires a certain degree of organization and sacrifice: arranging a person to meet in one place can be tricky, and when you think about it, we humans have yet to develop a perfect communication system to do it. Not only is it disrespectful to make someone wait for minutes, sometimes hours, but it also has a ripple effect on your schedule.
The practice of being late causes financial loss or compensation to each individual. Time is a sunk cost that cannot be recovered. When we choose to meet someone, we could have been doing something else, but we sacrifice that opportunity for another opportunity. So all that time waiting for that person to show up, we could have been doing something else more important, like finishing that personal project or finding the cure for the common cold.
From the ideas of “Power Distance” and “Collectivism”, it can be seen that there is a trickle-down effect. First and foremost is that you are setting a bad example for those below you, and the trickle down to all levels of society, not your office colleagues. Take, for example, the students, who are young, naive and looking for an adult to follow in their footsteps, but are disappointed by their teachers. Constant exposure to habitual tardiness and absenteeism plants an ominous seed in students’ minds that “it’s okay to be late and not even show up for class.” Do you want proof?
Australian Aid and the Indonesian Ministry of Education conducted joint research on teacher absenteeism in Indonesia in 2014 and found that teachers in local Indonesian schools have some of the highest absenteeism rates. Being the national rate of 10.7%. Imagine if 11% of your time at school, your school teacher doesn’t even show up! In a 200-day school year, this would equal 22 days of absenteeism. Most of us would kill for 22 days of vacation!
So why is no one doing anything about it?
The answer to the question of punctuality in Indonesia is not binary, it is not a Yes/No answer. Punctuality boils down to sincerity and respect. It’s not illegal to be late for a lunch date or a coffee chat in a cafe, but being late robs people, not money directly, but time. We can talk as much as we want about power distance and collectivism, but that’s never going to change. Nothing we can do will change the way thousands of years of civilization have shaped communities. However, we can begin to change our sense of respect for others.
I recently wrote an article about mask wearing and how anti-masks think, and in a way, anti-masks and habitual latecomers share identical traits of being ignorant of the consequences and seeing how “it is not a big thing”. The next time you make an appointment, before you cancel or show up late, be sure to always remember who the wronged party is and that a simple change can mean the destruction of someone else’s time.