Even fluent English speakers often have reservations when they are asked to compose a letter or report. Also, many employees the world over, when given the choice, would rather talk to their computer than to their supervisor. The impersonal nature of e-mail communication allows for the Indonesian employee to put forward his or her opinion without immediate repercussions like probing questions or anger from the superior. It is hard to be yelled at via e-mail. When an Indonesian team member wants to ask his same level co-workers for advice or procedure, there is no longer a need to track each one down and have individual conversations.
Contact is only a mouse click away.
However, one of the most important advantages of e-mail for a traditional Indonesian employee may be that it takes the place of a third party intermediary. Because of the importance of Asal Bapak Senang , Malu and Gensi in the Indonesian workplace, bad news and requests for guidance are often not communicated to a superior. Keeping in mind that Indonesian business culture tends toward a past or present orientation with less emphasis on future consequences, this short-term postponement of possibly unpleasant events may be an acceptable trade off for most employees. There is, of course, a downside to these developments. I recently heard about an expat manager in an energy sector company that received an irate and somewhat insulting e-mail from a Pertamina Bapak.