Last month, social media was flooded by discussions about the exploitative tendencies of start-ups in Indonesia. Ruangguru, one of the pioneer digital learning start-ups, was accused of utilizing interns to cut their personnel budget.

Iman Usman, a cofounder of Ruangguru, clarified through his personal Twitter account that all interns were paid differently based on various factors, such as type of work, field and other things.   

Even before the Ruangguru case, the issue about the exploitative nature of companies in the country had grabbed public attention and been discussed publicly or secretly between workers’ lunch intervals or weekend hangouts where friends typically share their stories about how crazy work has been.

However, the complaints only exist within those junctures. Soon after they return to work, they will put on their &ldquo...