One in four Indonesian workers puts in more than 49 hours a week. From Depok, a satellite city of Jakarta, it is evident that recurring overtime more often signals eroded motivation and stalled communication than a spirit of dedication.
Depok, JurnalPost.com — In many offices, those who leave the latest are often considered the most dedicated. A desk lamp still glowing when other employees have gone home and work messages answered in the middle of the night are frequently viewed as proof of loyalty.
In reality, constant overtime can be a symptom of a more fundamental issue: the loss of healthy work motivation and the obstruction of workplace communication.
Working Hours as a Measure of Self-Worth
Work culture in many organizations implicitly instills the belief that long working hours are equivalent to commitment. Employees who leave on time often feel the need to provide an explanation, as if working efficiently is something that requires justification.
This mindset slowly changes the meaning of work from a space to contribute and grow into an activity of surviving a pile of tasks that never seems to end.
National data shows that this issue is not merely an individual experience.
The National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas) of August 2025, released by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), recorded that approximately 25.47 percent of the working population in Indonesia, or equivalent to roughly 37 million people, have working hours exceeding 49 hours per week.
The transportation and warehousing sector recorded the highest rate, with 38.1 percent of its workers falling into the category of overwork or working excessively.
According to Universitas Gadjah Mada economist Wisnu Setiadi Nugroho, this phenomenon is largely influenced by labor market conditions that have yet to provide quality jobs, inadequate wage levels, and high informality. Thus, long working hours do not always reflect a high spirit of work.
A similar view was expressed by a civil servant (ASN) at the National Land Agency (BPN) who resides in Depok and served as a source for this article.
“Employees are not measured by how early or late they leave, but by the targets assigned to them. Our success is not determined by leaving late at night, but by our individual performance achievements,” they said.
According to them, evaluations at their agency are based on performance outcomes. Employees who work overtime and those who leave on time still receive recognition based on their work results because each individual's capacity and speed differ.
Slowly Eroding Motivation
Work motivation grows from a sense of control over one's work, opportunities for growth, and the belief that the work being done has meaning.
However, forced, constant overtime can erode all three aspects simultaneously. When rest time decreases, the energy that should be used for creative thinking and producing quality work is instead spent just trying to survive and finish tasks.
The source revealed that when they first started working, they had great enthusiasm. The opportunity to get a job after completing higher education was a source of pride. Recognition from superiors and opportunities for promotion were also factors that boosted their motivation.
Over time, that spirit underwent a change.
According to them, the turning point began to be felt in the last two to three years, as the performance appraisal system became stricter and administrative burdens continued to increase.
“Back then, overtime felt normal because the focus was on completing service targets. Now, overtime is often for filling out reports in various performance portal applications and doing formal documentation. It is physically and mentally exhausting because time is spent, but the impact is not felt by the public,” they said.
“From that point, overtime began to feel like a burden, no longer a form of dedication.”
This experience shows that work motivation is not only influenced by the amount of work, but also by the perception of the benefits and results of the work itself.
A similar picture emerged in the Workplace Happiness Index Indonesia 2025–2026 survey from Jobstreet by SEEK.
Although Indonesia is recorded as the country with the highest level of work happiness in the Asia Pacific region, about 43 percent of its workers experience burnout or exhaustion due to work.
In fact, about 40 percent of workers who claim to be happy in their jobs still experience this condition.
These findings show that someone can appear satisfied with their job, but at the same time experience physical and mental exhaustion that has the potential to reduce motivation in the long term.
Communication Breakdown Behind Workload
Beyond the issue of motivation, the culture of overtime is closely related to ineffective communication between workers and the organization.
Additional workloads do not always arise due to urgent needs. In some cases, work piles up because the division of tasks, limits of responsibility, and work priorities are not explained adequately from the start.
This condition can be felt even more in organizations that do not yet have an organized work structure or face limited human resources.
A study on the implementation of overtime at CV Cakra Utama Depok found that the company does not yet have a written organizational structure and still uses a manual attendance recording system.
In that study, production employees were reported not to receive overtime pay in accordance with the provisions of Government Regulation Number 35 of 2021. When orders increased, workers were also reported to experience issues in fulfilling their rest time.
Another issue was found at a startup company in the Pancoran Mas area, Depok. Performance indicators were said to change every month, while work meetings often still took place after Maghrib.
In fact, labor regulations limit overtime work to a maximum of four hours in one day and 18 hours in one week, with certain exceptions according to regulations.
The implementation of overtime must also meet the requirements of worker approval and overtime pay. In its calculation, the hourly wage for workers with a monthly salary is set at 1/173 of the monthly wage, which then becomes the basis for calculating the overtime pay rate.
Overtime that arises due to poor communication is often misinterpreted as a form of loyalty.
In reality, this condition can indicate that the direction of work, organizational priorities, and the team's ability to complete tasks have not been communicated well.
Without two-way communication, leaders risk not knowing when the workload has exceeded the employee's capacity. Conversely, workers may be reluctant to voice complaints for fear of being considered less committed.
The source believes that a space for communication with superiors is actually available because the relationship between leaders and subordinates is quite good, both inside and outside the office environment.
However, the response to work issues still depends on the character of each leader and employee.
They admitted that they do not always express their fatigue directly to their superiors.
“We have to place ourselves, when and to whom to vent our exhaustion. From my experience, I tell my wife more often,” they said.
The importance of communication is also reflected in research at PT Sejajar Bintang Sejahtera, Depok.
The research shows that intrinsic motivation and work communication both have a significant influence on employee performance. Together, these two variables were reported to be able to explain 90.3 percent of the variation in employee performance in the research model.
These findings show the importance of building open communication while maintaining the internal motivation of workers so that productivity does not only depend on the length of time worked.
Portrait of Depok: Commuters, Minimum Wage, and Young Workers
As one of Jakarta's satellite cities, Depok is home to many workers who travel daily to economic activity centers in the capital.
This condition makes the issue of working hours inseparable from travel time, cost of living, and the worker's opportunity to rest.
BPS Depok City data as of August 2025 recorded the number of the labor force reaching 1,063,021 people, with 993,732 residents having working status.
The Labor Force Participation Rate (TPAK) was recorded at 62.00 percent, a decrease from 62.89 percent in the previous period.
Meanwhile, the Open Unemployment Rate (TPT) increased by 0.25 percentage points to 6.52 percent.
The service sector dominates the employment structure of Depok City with a percentage reaching 84.18 percent. Most of the working population has the status of laborers or employees.
For commuter workers, daily travel becomes an additional factor that affects physical and mental conditions.
The source, for example, needs about an hour to travel from their home in Depok to the office in the Kelapa Gading area, North Jakarta.
This travel time affects the opportunity to rest, recover energy, and prepare for work the next day.
In terms of income, the Depok City Minimum Wage (UMK) for 2026 was set at Rp5,522,662 per month, an increase from Rp5,195,720.78 in 2025.
Although it is one of the relatively high UMKs in West Java, this amount is considered not necessarily commensurate with the living needs of some workers.
“Because of that, we need to take extra working hours for daily needs,” said the source.
This statement shows that the decision to take on additional work does not always arise from a motivation of dedication or a desire to improve achievement. Economic factors can also be a primary driver.
The source also observed differences in work orientation between generations.
According to them, young workers tend to pay more attention to career development opportunities, while senior workers emphasize responsibility for the work that has been entrusted to them.
This difference is a challenge in itself for organizations to build a work system that can accommodate the needs and expectations of each group of workers.
Restoring Meaning in Work
Overcoming the culture of overtime cannot be done just by limiting working hours. Organizations also need to rebuild motivation, clarify the division of responsibilities, and create healthy communication.
There are at least four steps that can be applied by organizations and individuals.
1. Clarify job descriptions from the start
A clear division of tasks and limits of responsibility can prevent additional work from piling up without planning. Thus, the workload is easier to measure and adjust to the capacity of each employee.
2. Open two-way communication
Employees need to have a safe space to convey difficulties and excessive workloads without worrying about being considered less committed.
On the other hand, leaders need to listen to this input as material for evaluating the work system.
3. Make overtime an indicator, not an achievement
Overtime that keeps recurring for the same individual or team should be a signal to evaluate the division of tasks, the availability of human resources, and the effectiveness of work processes.
The length of time someone is in the office cannot be used as the only measure of productivity or dedication.
4. Increase capacity, not just add working hours
Improving skills through training and work evaluation can help employees complete tasks more efficiently.
The source explained that routine training at their agency, supported by workload analysis and performance appraisal, helps improve work effectiveness.
In the end, true dedication is not measured by how long someone is in front of a screen or stays in the office after working hours end.
Dedication is more accurately seen from the quality of contribution, responsibility, and work results provided when energy and thinking ability are still maintained.
As long as organizations continue to equate overtime with loyalty and ignore communication regarding workload, work is at risk of losing its most fundamental meaning.
Work should be a space for someone to contribute, grow, and obtain a decent life, not just an activity of surviving endless demands.
Data Sources and References:
Central Statistics Agency (BPS), National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas) August 2025 and Depok City employment indicators.
Jobstreet by SEEK, Workplace Happiness Index Indonesia 2025–2026.
West Java Governor's Decree on the Depok City Minimum Wage for 2026.
Employment studies at CV Cakra Utama Depok, PT Sejajar Bintang Sejahtera, and a startup company in Pancoran Mas, Depok.
Government Regulation Number 35 of 2021.
Interview with a civil servant (ASN) residing in Depok.
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