Business Leaders Respond to WFH One Day per Week Policy, Say This
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Business leaders have voiced their response to the government’s plan to implement a work from home (WFH) policy one day per week. The policy aims to curb fuel consumption amid the ongoing conflict between the United States and Israel with Iran in the Middle East, a key global energy-producing region.
Apindo General Chair Shinta Kamdani has asked the government not to rush into establishing the policy. She believes a comprehensive mapping and policy setting for WFH is needed, including its impact on productivity and business sustainability.
“Regarding the discourse on policies like work from home (WFH), the design of the policy to be implemented by the government must first be examined, along with an assessment of its impacts in various aspects, including from the perspective of productivity and business operational continuity,” Shinta said some time ago, quoted on Tuesday (24/3/2026).
Shinta emphasised that the WFH policy cannot be applied uniformly across all business sectors. She assessed that sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, trade, and services still require the physical presence of workers to ensure production and distribution activities run smoothly.
“If this discourse is eventually implemented, it certainly cannot be applied uniformly across all sectors,” Shinta stressed, adding that business sectors that can adopt a WFH scheme include information technology and creative professions.
According to Shinta, arrangements for work patterns like WFH should be left to the internal policies of each company so they can adjust to operational needs and sector characteristics.
Separately, the government has previously acknowledged specific criteria for business sectors that cannot implement WFH, including those directly involved in public services.
“This applies to civil servants (ASN) and as a recommendation for the private sector, especially those not related to public services,” said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto.
The implementation of the WFH policy is planned after the 2026 Eid holiday. The technical details are currently being studied by the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“It will be detailed, but after Eid we will proceed,” Airlangga asserted.
On another occasion, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi stated that the policy will also apply to certain business sectors that allow remote work.
“To avoid misunderstanding, for example, service, industrial, and trade sectors may not be included in this policy,” Prasetyo said at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, last Saturday.
This WFH policy is a directive from the President during the full cabinet plenary session before the 2026 Eid holiday as an effort to promote efficiency in the work environment, including reducing fuel needs amid rising tensions in the Middle East war between Iran, the United States, and Israel.
“As conveyed by the President during the full cabinet plenary session, we are formulating several policies in recognition that we all must collectively become more efficient in our work,” Prasetyo said.
Nevertheless, he emphasised that the policy is not designed because fuel supplies in Indonesia are disrupted. “As we continue to state, insyaallah there are no issues with fuel supplies; fuel supplies are safe,” he stressed.