ADAPTATION PROCESSES IN CROSS - CULTURAL COMMUNICATION WITHIN CHINESE - INDONESIAN WORKPLACE SETTINGS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE TIKTOK SERIES "DAY 1 KERJA SAMA ORANG CHINA. "

Authors

Shi Jie, University of IndonesiaFollow
Amelia Burhan, University of IndonesiaFollow

Abstract

In the background ofChina's deepening economic engagement with Indonesia under the Belt and Road Initiative, increasing numbers of Chinese workers have entered Indonesian industrial zones, creating a workplace environment characterized by intensive cross-cultural interaction. While previous studies on cross-cultural adaptation have primarily emphasized macro-level cultural barriers and language difficulties, this research shifts attention to the micro-level communicative practices through which cultural adaptation is negotiated in everyday collaboration. Drawing on Howard Giles' Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), this study conducts a qualitative analysis of TikTok videos depicting workplace interactions between Chinese and Indonesian workers particularly those labeled "Day 1 kerja sama orang China." Through analysis of high-engagement videos, the study identifies three communication strategies that Chinese and Indonesian workers employ under conditions of language barrier: technology-mediate translation, multimodal non-verbal communication, and creative expressions emerging from shared labor experience. These strategies operate not as sequential stages but as complementary forms of convergence through which both groups actively reduce communicative friction, sustain cooperation, and co-construct shared meaning. Findings indicate that cross-cultural adaptation among Sino-Indonesian laborers is not a product of unilateral assimilation but a cumulative result of repeated attempts to understand and be understood, leading to the emergence of pragmatic hybrid workplace expressions and a growing sense of shared identity. At the digital level, TikTok functions as a mediator that amplifies and reframes cross-cultural communication, normalizing everyday cooperation while simultaneously risking the reproduction of entertainment-driven stereotypes.

Bahasa Abstract

Dalam kerangka Inisiatif Sabuk dan Jalan (Belt and Road Initiative), kerja sama ekonomi antara Tiongkok dan Indonesia semakin erat, dan semakin banyak pekerja Tiongkok yang memasuki kawasan industri di Indonesia, sehingga membentuk lingkungan kerja yang ditandai oleh interaksi lintas budaya yang intensif. Penelitian sebelumnya mengenai adaptasi lintas budaya sebagian besar berfokus pada hambatan budaya dan kesulitan bahasa pada tingkat makro, sementara penelitian ini mengalihkan perhatian ke praktik komunikasi pada tingkat mikro, dengan menelaah bagaimana adaptasi budaya dinegosiasikan dalam kolaborasi kerja sehari-hari. Dengan mengacu pada Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) yang dikemukakan oleh Howard Giles, penelitian ini melakukan analisis kualitatif terhadap video TikTok yang menampilkan interaksi kerja antara pekerja Tiongkok dan Indonesia, khususnya video yang diberi label “Day 1 kerja sama orang China”. Melalui analisis terhadap video-video dengan tingkat interaksi yang tinggi, penelitian ini mengidentifikasi tiga strategi komunikasi yang digunakan oleh pekerja Tiongkok dan Indonesia dalam kondisi hambatan linguistik, yaitu pakai alat translate, komunikasi non-verbal multimodal, serta ekspresi kreatif yang berakar pada pengalaman kerja bersama. Strategi-strategi ini tidak diterapkan secara berurutan, melainkan berfungsi sebagai bentuk-bentuk konvergensi yang saling melengkapi, melalui mana kedua pihak secara aktif mengurangi gesekan komunikasi,mempertahankan kerja sama, dan secara bersama-sama membangun makna bersama. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa adaptasi lintas budaya di kalangan tenaga kerja Tiongkok-Indonesia bukan merupakan hasil dari asimilasi sepihak, melainkan merupakan hasil akumulatif dari upaya-upaya berulang untuk saling memahami dan dipahami, yang pada akhirnya melahirkan ekspresi kerja hibrida yang bersifat pragmatis serta memperkuat rasa identitas bersama. Pada tingkat digital, TikTok sebagai sebuah medium memperbesar dan membingkai ulang komunikasi lintas budaya, menormalisasi kerja sama sehari-hari, namun pada saat yang sama juga mengandung risiko reproduksi stereotip yang didorong oleh logika hiburan.

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Recommended Citation

Jie, Shi and Burhan, Amelia (2026) "ADAPTATION PROCESSES IN CROSS - CULTURAL COMMUNICATION WITHIN CHINESE - INDONESIAN WORKPLACE SETTINGS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE TIKTOK SERIES "DAY 1 KERJA SAMA ORANG CHINA. "," International Review of Humanities Studies: Vol. 11: No. 1, Article 3.
DOI: 10.7454/irhs.v11i1.1441
Available at: https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/irhs/vol11/iss1/3