"Yes, Yes, I Understand" vs. "That Is Incorrect": Meetings in Jakarta and Vienna
Priya MehtaAugust 3, 2026 6 min read
Note substitution: the original day's algorithm assigned China vs Germany for this slot, which had already been covered on 2026-07-27. Indonesia vs Austria was substituted to avoid repeating a subject-country pair.
🇮🇩 Indonesia · 🇦🇹 Austria
By Priya Mehta, The Global Office
In a Jakarta meeting, "yes" is a social lubricant that may or may not indicate agreement, and the only reliable way to find out is to wait and see what actually happens next. In a Vienna meeting, "that is incorrect" is a complete sentence, delivered without a cushioning smile, and meant exactly as stated. Both cultures believe they are being perfectly clear. Only one of them is being clear in a way a stranger can immediately parse.
[IMAGE_1]
Do's & Don'ts
🇮🇩 Indonesia
| ✅ Do | ❌ Don't |
|---|---|
| Treat "we will consider it," "it is difficult," or a pause as a likely soft no, not a genuine maybe | Don't take a meeting "yes" at face value — it frequently signals "I heard you," not "I agree" |
| Follow up in writing or check back days later to confirm something was actually understood and accepted | Don't press colleagues for a direct answer in the room — it can force an uncomfortable, face-losing confrontation |
| Use titles and last names, especially with superiors or new contacts, as a baseline sign of respect | Don't bypass someone's immediate supervisor to get a faster answer — it disrupts an expected hierarchy of communication |
| Read body language, follow-up behavior, and consistency over time rather than the words used in the room | Don't assume junior staff silence in a meeting means no objections exist — they may simply not feel able to voice them openly |
| Build trust before expecting fast decisions — early meetings are about relationship, not necessarily immediate outcomes | Don't expect quick resolution — internal alignment typically has to happen before a real decision is confirmed |
🇦🇹 Austria
| ✅ Do | ❌ Don't |
|---|---|
| Come prepared with facts, figures, and a clear agenda — Austrians dislike wasted meeting time | Don't pad a meeting with small talk or lengthy preamble before getting to the point |
| Take direct, blunt-sounding feedback as intended clarity, not personal criticism | Don't read Austrian directness as rudeness — it usually reflects efficiency, not hostility |
| Stick closely to the pre-set agenda | Don't expect much room for open-ended discussion outside what was scheduled |
| Use professional titles and last names, especially early in a relationship | Don't assume initial formality means coldness — Austrians often warm up once real rapport is established |
| Back proposals with solid data and logical reasoning | Don't lead with emotional appeals — they carry less weight than facts and figures in Austrian business discussion |
Indonesian meeting culture runs on the principle that harmony outranks clarity, and that principle is well-documented enough that the CIPD has specifically flagged indirect communication as an obstacle to workplace productivity in Indonesia. A colleague who nods, smiles, and says "yes, yes, I understand" may genuinely be signaling only that they heard the words, not that they intend to act on them — a distinction that regularly produces the exact scenario cultural guides describe: a foreign manager flags an error, gets warm agreement, and finds the same error untouched days later. The reasons are structural rather than evasive: hierarchy discourages junior staff from openly contradicting a plan, and a direct "no" risks a loss of face for everyone in the room, so disagreement gets rerouted through phrases like "we will consider it" or a meaningful pause instead.
The Morning Brief
Enjoying this? Get it in your inbox.
Austrian meeting culture runs on the opposite assumption: that clarity is the respectful choice, and softening a statement to spare feelings can actually read as a lack of clarity or even dishonesty. Meetings follow a precise, pre-circulated agenda that's "followed rigorously," according to one guide to Austrian business etiquette, with little patience for discussion that strays outside it, and directness that can tip into what Austrians themselves cheerfully call "Wiener Grant" — Viennese grumpiness — is understood locally as efficient rather than hostile. Austria's Hofstede power distance score of 11 (among the lowest globally) plays a role here too: with less hierarchy to navigate carefully around, there's simply less structural incentive to soften disagreement the way a steeper hierarchy demands.
The Reckoning: Indonesia's meeting culture optimizes for preserving relationships in the room, even at the cost of a decision actually being confirmed. Austria's meeting culture optimizes for confirming a decision efficiently, even at the cost of feelings in the room. A Jakarta-trained professional walking into a Vienna meeting may find the bluntness of direct disagreement genuinely startling, mistaking clarity for hostility. A Vienna-trained professional walking into a Jakarta meeting may leave believing a plan was fully agreed, only to discover weeks later that "yes" never meant what it sounded like. Neither culture is being evasive on its own terms — Indonesia's indirection protects group harmony deliberately, and Austria's directness protects time and clarity deliberately — but each reads the other's default as a communication failure rather than a different, coherent system.
[IMAGE_2]
The Part the Brochure Left Out
Quora — Responding to "What aspect of Indonesian culture is hard to understand for foreigners?", one contributor pointed specifically to meetings, where colleagues would nod and agree in the room not because they endorsed the decision, but because open disagreement risked disrupting group harmony — leaving the real answer to surface only later.
Nobleasiaid.com (Jakarta workplace communication guide) — A guide for expat managers described a recurring scene almost verbatim: a foreign manager points out an error, the local colleague smiles, nods, and says "yes, yes, I understand" — and the same uncorrected error resurfaces in the report days later, having never actually been fixed.
Quora — Responding to "Are Vienna people rude?", one contributor described the local "Wiener Grant" communication style as blunt to the point of shock for newcomers, but insisted it reflected directness rather than actual unfriendliness once you got used to it.
The Local (Austria edition) — An explainer on unwritten rules that shape daily life in Austria described punctuality and directness as functioning almost as moral values locally, with lateness or vagueness in a meeting read as a lack of respect for other people's time.
Conclusion
If you're moving to Jakarta, budget extra time to confirm that "yes" in the room actually means yes — a written follow-up will tell you more than the meeting did. If you're moving to Vienna, budget less time worrying about tone and more time preparing your data, because the bluntness is not personal and the agenda is not a suggestion. Priya's honest take: in Jakarta, trust the silence more than the smile; in Vienna, trust the words exactly as spoken.
Subscriber Only
Continue reading — it's free
Subscribe to The Alignment Times and get every article delivered to your inbox.
Photo by Emre Gokceoglu via Pexels
Priya Mehta
Staff writer covering financial markets and corporate strategy. Has strong opinions about spreadsheets.